Alternate Season 1
by protector91
Summary: What happens when things go differently in the first season of Smallville. An Alternate, more serialized take on various aspects of Smallville's first season.
1. Pilot

**A/N: It's been a long time since the Smallville Pilot hasn't it? Well looking back on that episode, I sort of feel like Clark should've had a real antagonist to deal in that episode as opposed to a meteor freak seeing as the meteor freaks could never really injure him. I'm starting off after Chloe's Wall of Weird introduction. Most of the pilot will be the same the same except for its antagonist and two other plot points .**

"Um… Pete? Why are you all of a sudden freaking out about the whole scarecrow thing? I mean sure it's probably years of therapy waiting to happen, but your acting like it'll be the death of you."

"You've never heard the story Chloe?"

"What story?"

Pete looked around like he was about to reveal some sort of forbidden knowledge. "Ok you see back in 1989 this kid named Jeremy was selected as the scarecrow. Then the meteors came. Kid never had a chance. A meteor struck right in the middle of the cornfield and when he was finally found… well you get the idea." Clark couldn't listen to any more of this. He just couldn't deal with the fact that he caused so much death and pain. He walked out of The Torch and outside of the school. Someone's hand roughly grabbed his shoulder.

"Chloe," Clark started, but was surprised to see Whitney.

"Congratulations Clark. You're this year's scarecrow."

"Don't mess with me," Clark threatened.

"Come on," Whitney taunted pulling off his jacket. Clark had enough of Whitney and went to punch him. Whitney lifted his hand effortlessly stopping Clark's punch. The ground shook from the punch's impact. "Well it looks like I'm not the only one with a few secrets." He said roughly shoving Clark. Clark hit the ground which shook slightly. Whitney super sped down to Clark and grabbed him by the neck line of his shirt.

"What's going on between you and Lana?" He asked angrily. Clark stretched out his hand to grab part of Whitney's shirt. He wound up ripping part of it off. Clark's breath stopped when he saw what was on the exposed flesh. It was some sort of octagonal disk stuck to his chest. It looked familiar to him; like he had seen it someplace before.

"I asked you a question!" He shouted shaking Clark. Clark grabbed the part of Whitney's shirt again, but something Lana's necklace became exposed when he did. Clark immediately became weak and could no longer defend himself.  
Whitney saw Clark looking at Lana's necklace and said, "You like her necklace? Good. Because that is as close as you'll ever get to her." He pulled of her necklace and wrapped it around Clark's neck. The pain increased in Clark as Whitney and his friends grabbed Clark and threw him into the back of a truck. He tried to get out, but Whitney held him down. "You might be strong Kent, but I'm stronger," he stated as they headed for the Smallville cornfield. He was stripped down to his boxer shorts and had an S painted on his chest.

* * *

**Many hours later**  
Clark's breath was becoming increasingly ragged. The cold air was ripping against his flesh. He already lost the feeling in his arms and was losing what little feeling he had in his legs. His eyes opened when he heard a loud whooshing noise.

"How you holding up Kent?" Whitney asked with a smirk on his face.

"Ok Whitney you've had your fun now let me down."

"Fun's just beginning Clark."

"How did you get this way?" Clark questioned knowing he had to get that out of the way.

"Meteor Shower Clark. Best day of my life. You see after the shower ended my folks went out to see if anybody needed help near outskirts of town. I wandered into the cornfield and saw something odd glowing on the ground. My curiosity got the better of me and when I went to touch this thing it attached itself to my chest. Doctors managed to get it off of me, but I decided to hang on to it. This little disk gave me all I could ask for Clark. Awesome powers, a spot on the football team, and last but not least, Lana Lang's love. Seeing as you have a few powers of your own I'm surprised you haven't used them for your personal benefit."  
Clark weakly glared at Whitney. "I'm not like you."

"Whatever," Whitney said dismissing Clark's statement. "Love to stick around and chat, but it's almost time for the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen."

"Whitney…you can't leave me here."

"Hey it's tradition Kent. And besides now that my secret's out I can't let you go and reveal it to the whole school now can I?" Whitney then left Clark to hang there. Clark's head sunk back down as he felt his breathing grow faint. Whitney hopped the fence and was caught in someone's headlights. Lex Luthor stepped outside of his car, but when he blinked Whitney vanished. Lex went to inspect the situation when he heard a weak voice say, "Help me." Lex grabbed a flashlight and entered the field and was shocked to see Clark strung up. "Clark? Oh jeez." He said untying Clark. "Who did this to you?"

"Doesn't matter," Clark responded as he fell down. The kryptonite necklace fell off his neck and its effects on Clark wore off. Clark felt somewhat rejuvenated as he went to grab his clothes.

"Clark you need see a doctor."

"I'll be ok."

"At least let me give you a ride," Lex offered, but Clark already left the field.

* * *

**Smallville High**

Clark sped into the gym where the dance was being held and spotted Whitney dancing with Lana. Clark felt his stomach tighten when he saw Whitney kiss Lana. Clark shook his head remembering why he was there. He had to get that disk off of Whitney's chest. The song ended and Whitney kissed Lana one final time before walking off with her to the punch table.

"Hey Whitney. You haven't happened to have seen Clark anywhere around have you?" Lana asked as he poured her a drink.

"I'm sure he's hanging around somewhere," Whitney responded taking a sip of punch.

Lana's cell began to vibrate and she opened it up to read the message. She laughed slightly at the text. "What's up?" Whitney asked.

"Oh the usual High School drama. Apparently one of the cheerleader's boyfriends just broke up with her and the others are failing miserably to calm her down. She apparently locked herself in the bathroom."

"Wait. How would she be able to lock the bathroom door?"

"Janitor's always leaving the master keys lying around somewhere," Lana answered heading off.

"Don't be gone to long Lana. Remember there is still the last song."

"I'll be back before you know it Whitney." And she took off towards the bathroom leaving Whitney alone at the punch bowl. Clark took this moment and entered his super speed mode. Time slowed down to the point where nothing was moving. Clark dashed through the crowded gym towards Whitney. If he had any luck he could grab the disk and be gone before Whitney realized anything. He was only a few feet away from Whitney when he spun around spotting Clark. Realizing he couldn't stop now Clark continued his run towards Whitney. Whitney threw a backhand punch at the approaching Clark, which he ducked under. Clark grabbed Whitney around the chest and sped them off to another section of the school. No one noticed how he disappeared from the gym.

* * *

**Another section of the School**

Clark tossed Whitney to the floor as he exited his super speed. Whitney got up and dusted off his suit. "Back for round two Kent?"

"I'm not here for a fight Whitney. All I want is the disk."

"You want it Clark. Then you're going to have to take it from me." Whitney dashed at Clark and pushed him against a wall. He threw his fist at Clark with all his strength. Clark threw out his own arm and took the full impact of the blow causing part of the room to shake. Clark tackled Whitney into a desk and ripped of the part of his shirt covering the disk. Whitney grabbed Clark's wrist and shoved him off. Whitney grabbed Clark and smashed his head through the window. Clark elbowed Whitney in the chest and slammed him back on the desk.

"Whitney, listen to me! You have to get that thing off! It's messing with your head!" Whitney forced Clark off him and the two dashed at each other.

* * *

**Back in the gym**

"Hey Chloe. Are you feeling ok?" Pete asked noticing her down look.

"I'm alright it's just…"

"Let me guess. You still wish that Clark would've come."

"That obvious, huh? I guess I should've seen it coming with Lana coming here with Whitney."

"You don't have to be sad Chloe. I'm still here."

Chloe smiled at Pete's comment. He was always there to try to keep a smile on her face. The two of them were about to head back onto the dance floor when the school violently shook.

"What the Hell was that?" Pete asked picking himself and Chloe off the floor.

"I don't know. Earthquake?" The school shook two more times and the entire gym began to evacuate.

"Pete, Chloe? Have either of you seen Whitney?" Lana asked as they stood outside.

"I thought he was with you."

"Nobody here has seen him since the Homecoming Crowning. You think he might still be inside?"

"Only one way to find out" and with that Chloe took off for one of the back entrances of the school; partially to see what happened to Whitney but also partially to see if these tremors were the work of a meteor freak.

* * *

Clark spun out of the way of Whitney's punch. He drove his fist into a file cabinet.

Clark grabbed Whitney and kneed him in the chest. Whitney's face scrunched up in pain, but it was soon replaced by an angry look as he pulled out his fist punching Clark in the process. He could taste blood in his mouth. He'd never bled before. Whitney kicked Clark in the face causing him to spin around. Whitney lunged himself forward and put Clark into a choke hold. He tried to pull him off, but Whitney just tightened his grip. He grabbed Whitney by the neck and with all his strength slammed him to the floor. Whitney recovered and used another kick on Clark sending him flying over to the teachers desk. Clark landed with a crash destroying it. Whitney sped over to Clark, but Clark caught Whitney's punch and tossed him to the other side of the room. He crashed into several other desks crushing them on impact. He dragged himself up; his clothes all dirty.

"KENT!" He shouted with all his rage and charged him full speed. Clark charged him too. The resulting collision caused the school to shake again. Whitney collapsed from the collision and Clark laid him down on the floor. The disk somehow was now missing from his chest.

"Whitney!" He heard the voice of Lana call out. Whitney started to groan a little and Clark super sped away into the room across from this room.

"Oh my God! Whitney!" Lana rushed down to his side with Chloe and Pete close behind.

"Whitney what did this to you? Was it a meteor freak?" Chloe asked with a tad too much excitement in her voice.

"I… I don't remember." Whitney responded. A disappointed look brandished the reporter's face.

Clark meanwhile let out a sigh of relief. At least his secret was still safe. Now all he had to do was… the disk! He never saw what happened to the disk and he didn't have time to try to find it now. He'd have to come back for it later. Meanwhile in a section of the hallway the octagonal disk lay un-claimed. A hand came down and picked it up.

"What have we here?" Janitor Rudy Jones thought pocketing the disk and walking away.

* * *

**Chloe's house**

Chloe slumped into her chair as she waited for the pictures from homecoming to download. She couldn't help, but feel disappointed with the night's events. A meteor freak may have very well been at the dance, but thanks to the all brawn-no brain jock she may never know. The pictures came on screen and she began scrolling threw them.

"What in the world?" She said as one of the pictures caught her attention. It was a picture of Whitney at the punch bowl, but something else caught her eye. She zoomed in on the picture and a thrilled smile appeared on her face.

**A/N: I completely made up how the disk could give someone powers in the way it did with Whitney though it is like the dagger from the Season 3 episode titled tailisman in a way.**


	2. Blur

**A/N: Ok so I'm finally back with this story. Here's how things are going to go with this story. I am not going to rewrite every episode of season 1. Some episodes will either be skipped over, but referenced and some will be rewritten with the basic plot of the episode still standing, but with changes made to them. Two of those episodes will be 'Obscura' and 'Tempest'. Enjoy!**

Clark super sped back to the Kent farm in under a few seconds. He noticed that the lights weren't on and figured his parents were probably asleep. He slowly opened the back door and quietly started to sneak over to the stairs when the lights clicked on.

"Going somewhere?" His mom asked sitting at the kitchen table.

"Why don't you take a seat," Jonathan said pointing at the empty chair. Clark jumped into the chair and took a sigh.

"We haven't heard from you all day Clark. We were beginning to get worried," Martha said.

"You want to tell us where you've been all night?" Jonathan asked his son.

"You know how Smallville High has that Scarecrow tradition?" Clark asked his parents.

"Yeah; it's been going on since I went there," Jonathan responded.

"Well I was selected," Clark honestly answered them.

"Hold on son," Jonathan said. "Even if you were selected you could've cut yourself free no problem."

"I know it's just that; you know how I always get sick whenever I'm around Lana's necklace? Whitney was wearing it when he jumped me and he put it around my neck. If Lex hadn't found me and untied me I'd still be stuck in that field," Clark revealed. He decided for now to keep quiet about the octagon he found on Whitney.

"What was Lex Luthor doing out there?" Jonathan asked now curious.

"I was in the field next to the Luthor Corp plant. He must've seen Whitney leaving the field and decided to check it out," he explained hoping they'd drop the subject before he had to reveal any more information.

"Is there anything else you haven't told us Clark?" Jonathan asked him.

"No; nothing at all," Clark lied. The last thing he needed to do was to tell them that some familiar object fell into the wrong hands and about the disastrous results that followed. Jonathan didn't look like he believed Clark, but he didn't push the matter. Taking his silence as a 'you can go' Clark got up and left.

Once Clark was safely out of earshot Jonathan said to Martha, "Do you get the feeling we didn't get the full story?"

"Yes, but let's look at it this way. What's the worst thing that could've possibly happened? It's Clark after all."

* * *

**Smallville High – The Next day**

Rudy Jones sat at one of the desks in one of them many classrooms absentmindedly spinning the octagonal disk on top of it. He really wasn't sure what to do with it. He'd never seen anything like the small symbols on it, but honestly speaking, who was he going to show this to?

"Rudy?"

"Mr. Kent," Rudy said grabbing and pocketing the disk before he could see him. "Is there something I can do for you?" He asked.

"No; this is where my first class is actually. What are you doing here?" Clark asked the janitor.

"Prolonging the task of cleaning up the mess in the science lab caused by that mini earth quake or who knows what," he answered heading out the door.

"Rudy always looks so depressed," Clark thought. "Then again working two janitorial shifts at both a high school and the Luthor Corp. plant could do that to anyone. Clark's cell phone buzzed and he checked the text message he received.

**Meet at the Torch after class. You aren't going to believe this!**

**Chloe**

"You got a message too huh," Clark's best friend Pete said from behind Clark.

"Hi Pete," Clark greeted.

"Where were you last night Clark? You missed some pretty strange and entertaining stuff at the dance."

"Like what?" Clark asked feigning ignorance of the events he knows all too well.

"First, one of the cheerleaders stole Rudy's master keys and locked herself in the bathroom after her boyfriend dumped her. The other girls made a pathetic attempt to calm her down; it was hilarious man. But the strangest thing that happened though was that there was some kind of mini earth quake or something like that; I'm not sure. It was over after a few minutes. I, Chloe, and Lana went inside to look for Whitney when we noticed he wasn't outside. We found the jock lying on the floor."

"How is he?" Clark asked hoping that he wasn't hurt from the fight.

"He has one maybe two broken ribs, but he won't show that he's in pain; after all he is the captain of the football team. Speaking of football I wonder what poor sucker the football team chose to be the Scarecrow." Clark didn't respond to Pete's comment and just took his seat. He never wanted to be reminded of being the scarecrow ever again.

The rest of the day flew by faster than a speeding bullet. Clark exited his last class with the disk still on his mind. He was beginning to wonder if he should've told his parents about it now. After all he has no idea what even happened to the thing. Any one of his classmates could've taken it by now and for all he knows it could've attached itself to them. As he looked up he saw one of the students bump into a girl and made her drop all her books. The girl knelt down to pick them up and Clark jogged over to help her.

"Let me help you with those," Clark offered.

"Thanks," the girl responded. They both reached for the last book and grabbed it at the same time. Clark and the girl looked up at each other and Clark was at a loss for words. She was probably the most beautiful girl Clark had ever seen. She was even prettier than Lana. Clark heard the girl laugh a little and he realized how stupid he must look staring at her. Clark cleared his throat and held out his hand. "I'm Clark; Clark Kent." The girl took his hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Tess Mercer."

"I haven't seen you around school before," Clark said as they stood up.

"Just moved here," Tess said to him. Clark was about to continue when his cell buzzed again and he saw Chloe left him a message asking him where he was.

"Well I have to be somewhere now. It was nice meeting you Tess. Hope you like Smallville. Maybe I'll see you around," Clark said to her and then ran off for the Torch.

Tess smiled. "I think I'm going to like it here."

* * *

"What took you so long?" Chloe asked Clark as he entered the Torch.

"Just helping out a new student," Clark answered as he took a seat next to Pete.

"You mean Tess Mercer?" Chloe asked him.

"Yeah; how did you know about her?"

"I met her first period. She seems nice, but on to more important matters. You guys are never going to believe this."

"What? Did the cheerleaders all die a fiery and slow death like you've always secretly wanted them to?" Pete jokingly asked.

"Very funny, Pete" she said with an eye roll. "Anyway I've done it. I've actually done it."

"Done what?" Clark asked.

"Don't leave us in suspense," Pete added.

"I've got evidence of the appearance of a meteor freak at this very school!" She exclaimed in quick excitement. Clark swallowed thickly; was his identity blown?

"What evidence Chloe?" Pete asked. Chloe directed their view towards her computer where a picture of a blur was on her screen. "Chloe; you do realize that blur could be anything? It could be well… well…"

"Well what?" Chloe asked putting her hands on her hips.

"Well… anything but a bird or a plane at least," he said. "Who was using the camera that night anyway?"

"Sorry Pete. Protected source," Chloe told him.

"He's right Chloe you can't be certain that this was a meteor freak." Clark said to her.

"You got a better suggestion?"

"Well. No," Clark answered. "You aren't thinking of running this in the Torch are you though? I mean how are you going to run this by the principal?"

"I already did and you know what he said?" Clark felt very nervous now. "He said absolutely not." Chloe revealed. Clark silently thanked Principal Kwan in his mind. "However, he did say to me that if I managed to find better evidence he'd be fine with me printing the story. That's what I'm going to do boys and you're going to help me."

"I don't think the principal was being serious Chloe. He might've said that just to get you off his back about the story," Clark suggested.

"Well he made a mistake presenting me with a challenge Clark. By the time you, me, and Pete are done investigating we're going to find out who this guy is," Chloe said putting her hands on Clark and Pete's shoulders.

**A/N: Three guesses as to who got that shot of Clark at the homecoming dance. My updates for this story aren't going to be fast I can tell you that much. I know how I want to carry out the major parts of the story. Getting to said major parts is the problem. See ya!**


	3. Hot Head

**A/N: Here are the other episodes that I'm going to put my own spin on as well. They are Hothead (this chapter), Leech, Jitters, Rogue, and Nicodemus in addition to Obscura and Tempest; maybe a few others. We'll see. Starting next chapter with Jitters I will be writing at least two chapters for each episode. Tempest might get more; four at the most. Lex will appear next chapter.**

Clark stood outside of Lana's door; Lead box with her necklace tucked under his shoulder. Taking a deep breath he opened the box and pulled out the necklace. The feeling of it against his skin burned. Clark fought back against the pain and hung the necklace on the door knob before knocking and super speeding away before he wound up fainting on Lana's front porch.

"Hello?" Lana asked stepping onto the front porch. She stopped when she saw her necklace. Whitney told her that he lost it somewhere in the corn field. She had been tempted to go into the field and find it, but it looks like someone found it for her. But who is the question? Clark came to mind, but if he did why didn't he stay around to give it to her?

"Who's at the door Lana?" Her Aunt Nell asked from inside the house as she reached for her necklace.

"No one Aunt Nell," Lana called back. Her head turned, Lana didn't notice that her necklace started to glow as she reached for it. When Lana turned her head back to her necklace the glow had died out.

* * *

**The Torch: a few days later **

"Good morning Chloe. How's it going?"

"Jimmy Olson. Just the guy I wanted to see," Chloe said as Jimmy slid into one of the chairs.

"Let me guess. You require my ace photography skills once again. Am I right?" Jimmy guessed.

"That is correct Jimmy. You remember those photo's you took the night of homecoming?"

"Do I ever. Some of my best work I might say," Jimmy cockily said eliciting a giggle from the reporter.

"Thank you Mr. Full of himself," Chloe said. "Anyway this shot here is what caught my attention the most," Chloe said showing him the blur again.

"Chloe; what's so good about an unidentifiable blur on the shot?" Jimmy asked.

"Jimmy this 'blur' is a meteor freak that can run super fast. We actually have one in our school!" Chloe once again exclaimed in excitement.

"Assuming this is true, what do you need me for?" He asked her.

"I'm going to find out who this guy is if it's the last thing I do and you along with Clark and Pete are going to help me do it," Chloe told him. "I have the story all typed out. I just need to get proof of the meteor freak's existence for dear old Principal Kwan and I can run the story.

"When is that man going to learn to never challenge Chloe to find out the truth?" Jimmy thought. "So do you know where to even begin the search for this guy?" Jimmy asked.

"I was figuring that maybe it could be one of the football players. With speed like that they could easily cheat their way onto the team," Chloe said as she got off her desk and walked into the hallway.

"Speaking of cheating," Jimmy said running after her, "I heard some players on the team got busted for it."

"Yep; and I'm the one that wrote the story covering it."

"I can only wonder how hot headed Coach Arnold is going to react." Jimmy said.

"Maybe if he stares at them hard enough they'll all burst into flames," Chloe joked.

* * *

Coach Arnold had the guilty football players lined up on the field. Despite the fact that it was a rather cold morning the Coach barely registered the temperature. He in fact felt hot as opposed to cold. "Well, well, well. I've seen some pretty stupid things in m life, but this without a doubt takes the cake. Not only were you guys stupid enough to get caught cheating on that test, but one of you was even dumb enough to rat me out!" He shouted at all of them. Some of the players jumped a little as the field heated up from Coach Arnold's anger. "So who was it? Who told Principal Kwan that it was me that provided you with the answers to the test!" None of the players came forward. As a matter of fact some took a few steps away from him. "Well if that's how it's gonna be," the Coach started.

"Wait," one of the players said stepping forward.

"Trevor; should've known," the Coach said. "The rest of you are free to go. Get out of my sight this instant," he ordered them. The players made no argument and raced off as fast as their feet would carry them. "You," the Coach said turning to Trevor. "Who else did you tell about me?" He asked.

"No one," Trevor said.

"Liar!" H shouted grabbing Trevor's arm. Trevor could feel his skin burning and fought his urge to scream. "Tell me who else you told or I'll burn it off!" He threatened causing Trevor's arm to burn even more.

"Sullivan! Chloe Sullivan!" Tyler shouted at his coach. Coach Arnold relinquished his hold on Trevor's arm. Trevor lay on the ground feeling like his arm just went through a furnace.

"Sullivan; Of course she's the one you told," He said to Trevor.

* * *

"Clark! Pete! Over here!" Chloe shouted to her friends. They spotted her and walked in her direction.

"What's up Chloe? Who are you?" Pete asked Jimmy.

"Olson. James Olson," Jimmy introduced himself. "Old friend of Chloe's. Transferred here a few weeks ago."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Clark Kent," Clark said shaking his hand. Pete did the same.

"Wait a minute. James? Since when has it been James?" Chloe asked him.

"Well that is part of my name; James Bartholomew Olson."

"I thought you legal name was…"

"Chloe for the last time that's what my dad wanted to name me, but my mom won out in the end. Can we please stop talking about that?"

"Ok. No problem. Anyway I was just discussing with Jimmy here about people that could be the meteor freak on campus."

"She thinks it's a member of the football team," Jimmy said.

"What makes you think that?" Clark asked her.

"Hey Sullivan!" Chloe heard someone shout her name. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a football soaring directly at her face. Clark stretched out his hand and caught the ball only an inch away from her face.

"Those are some amazing reflexes CK," Jimmy said to Clark.

"Yeah; amazing," Chloe said still a little shocked that Clark caught that ball with so little space between her face and it. Clark tossed the ball back at the football player. He caught it, but the impact of the ball hitting him, while not large was still enough to knock some of the wind out of the guy. Coach Arnold saw this and immediately walked to Clark.

"Impressive throw Kent. Technique could use a little work, but you've got a lot of power."

"Must've come from all those years of working on the farm," Clark said trying to dismiss the subject.

"Well why aren't you out on our field?" Coach Arnold asked stepping in Clark's path so he couldn't make a break for it.

"Well my dad needs me on the farm," Clark began.

"Your dad would be the last person I'd expect to not want you playing ball. He was a legend back in the day Clark."

"Thanks, but."

"Kent," he interrupted. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your days milking cows and bailing hay?"

"The team could really use the help at this point Clark," Lana said appearing on the scene. Clark took a few steps back to avoid the feeling from Lana's necklace. "With some of the best players getting suspended and Whitney still recovering from what happened during homecoming." Clark looked from the Coach to Lana and sighed. What's the worst that could happen?

"Ok. I'm in." Clark said. Upon telling this news to his parents his dad was less than enthusiastic about it. The following day when Clark went to practice his dad came to make sure Clark didn't hurt anyone. Clark was the last to leave the locker room following practice. Coach Arnold seemed pleased with Clark's performance out there. He had used his powers, though not so much that he didn't draw too much attention to himself. He exited the locker room and began to jog down to some a bonfire being made out at the field. Clark questioned why they were making one in the first place. The most common answer he got was that it was an in-joke at the coach's hot temper. Clark wasn't going to argue with that.

"You weren't bad out on the field," Tess said standing just outside the locker room.

"Tess. What're you doing here?" Clark asked.

"Waiting for you to come out," she answered. "I wanted to talk with you some more," Tess said. "You're kind of the only person that talks to me around here at the moment," she said with her head down a little.

"No one talks to you," Clark said.

"Well people do… sort of. Most of the guys that talk to me are just interested in dating me and at least half the girls want me dead considering that most of those boys are their boyfriends," Tess said with a small laugh.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Clark asked. "Why did I ask her that? It's known of my business," he thought.

"I had one, but I duped him a week before I moved. He had a drinking problem in addition to an affinity for arrows," Tess answered Clark. "He didn't really take it well, but that's all in the past now.

"Well if you want I can introduce you to some of my friends," Clark offered. "They're nice people. I should warn you that my friend Chloe is currently on the hunt for her next story and will drag anyone she knows along for the ride," Clark joked.

"Chloe Sullivan?" Tess asked.

"Yeah, do you know her?"

"I ran into her on my first day. You and she are probably the only actual friends I have here right now."

"We're friends?" Clark asked.

"Well I'd like to be yours," Tess said facing Clark. He smiled.

"I'd like to be yours too Tess," Clark replied.

* * *

**The Torch**

"Clark couldn't be the meteor freak. Could he?" Chloe wondered pacing around the room. "I mean sure he caught the football at just the right time, but maybe that was just luck on his part." As Chloe continued to ponder the situation part of the Torch caught fire. Chloe backed away from the flames, which were growing by the minute. Chloe ran to the window and opened it, but realized jumping wasn't an option. She saw Clark and Tess just outside and called out to them.

"Did you hear something?" Tess asked Clark.

"Yeah; it sounded like Chloe."

"Clark!" Clark's head shot toward the school and saw Chloe screaming with a giant fire increasing from behind her.

"I'll call 911!" Tess informed Clark pulling out her cell phone. Realizing that they'd never make it in time, Clark sprinted towards the Torch. Once inside the school he entered super speed mode. Clark knocked open the door and when he did the flames all died down.

"Clark!" Chloe shouted flinging herself into his arms. Clark held her as Chloe breathed heavily from her near death experience. "Man he got up her fast. A little too fast," she thought. "What if Clark really was the one Jimmy got a picture of?"

**A/N: Better watch your back Clark. Chloe's suspicious now and there seems to be something up with Lana as well. At least Clark's made a new friend. Review if you like the story. See ya!**


	4. Jitters part 1

Chloe was once again pacing around the now restored… sort of… Torch. The more she thought about it the more she wondered if Clark was the one she was trying to expose. He somehow caught that football a mere couple of inches from her face and he managed to reach the flaming Torch faster than she thought. But if he was the meteor freak from the homecoming dance then why hasn't he gone psycho or anything? In the past several weeks she'd met other freaks such as shape shifting Tina Greer, body heat draining Sean Kelvin, and fat sucking vampire Jodi Melville. All of them had been rather decent people until the meteors came and then they just snapped. Tina suddenly wanted to live Lana's life (literally), Sean Kelvin couldn't stay warm and resorted to draining heat from anything he could get his hands on; even people. Jodi was the sweetest of them all, but her powers caused her to lose more body fat than she could handle forcing her to suck the fat out of living human beings. She almost sank her teeth into Pete if it hadn't been for Clark. Clark; he always had a habit of showing up at just the right moment at just the right time. With speed like that it'd be easy to show up in the nick of time. But it's not like she can just go question Clark about this power of his. He'd probably just deny knowing how she feels about the meteor infected. Chloe decided to quit deliberating about this for the moment. She picked up her back pack and headed off for the bus. After a long school week she was just going to spend this weekend laying spread eagled on her comfy bed.

"Hey Chloe!" Pete called her over.

"Hey Pete." She said standing by her friends as they waited for the bus.

"So Clark here was just telling me about his plans for the weekend. Tell her Clark," Pete said with an eager smile on his face. Clark sighed and rolled his eyes a little.

"I was just telling Pete here that with my parents out of town I was thinking of inviting a small number of people over," Clark explained.

"Did I hear right? Is Clark Kent, the ultimate goody two shoes, actually thinking about throwing a party?" Chloe asked with a smirk.

"Hey I resent that. I am not a goody two shoes," Clark declared. Pete and Chloe both raised their eyebrows at his declaration. "Well I'm not."

"Clark there is an extraordinarily long list of all the times you could've done something wild and rebellious and each time you've always been the good guy. This might enhance your rep at School a little," Pete said as the bus showed up.

"Whatever; just remember the key word is 'small'."

* * *

"I am so dead," Clark said to himself. There were some many people here that some actually had to party outside.

"Great party Clark!" Pete shouted to his best friend over the loud music.

"I don't even know half the people here!" Clark shouted back.

"Oh. I may have invited a few more people over and they probably invited their friends and so on," Pete admitted.

"Pete! They are making a huge mess! Do you know how long this will take to clean up!" Clark knew he could have it all cleaned up in a flash, but he wanted to make a point to his friend.

"Don't worry man! Your parents won't be home till Monday. I'll help you fix the place up tomorrow. I'll even get Chloe and Jimmy to help out. And hey at least Lana came so it's not a total disaster. Where is she anyway?"

"Whitney showed up and they went to talk in the barn."

"Whitney's here? Who the hell invited him?"

"I don't know."

"Well don't sweat it Clark. Maybe they're having a lovers spat. Now if you'll excuse me," and Pete disappeared into the crowd. Clark slumped into the couch as the partiers continued to ravage and his house. One guy slipped into the couch as well and he didn't look to good.

"Are you ok?" Clark asked the guy.

"I'm not feeling too hot. Oh man," He put his hands to his mouth and was about to throw up on the floor when someone put a bowl in his hands and he threw up in that.

"You're welcome," Tess said to Clark when the guy got up and left.

"Thanks for the save. I wouldn't want to be cleaning that up," Clark said.

"Anytime. I gotta say that I'm surprised that you're the one throwing this party Clark."

"You're the tenth person tonight to tell me that," Clark sighed.

"Clark. I haven't known you for long, but from what I've seen you're wound up way too tight. Sometimes you just need to relax and have some fun in your life. You know what they say. 'All work and no play makes Jack and dull boy."

"Tess," Clark began.

"Not another word Clark," Tess said placing a finger over his lips to silence him. "Just enjoy life for once." Clark slowly started to smile and nodded his head. That is until the fireworks started to go off just outside. Clark's head whipped around and he ran over to the window. "The fireworks might just be a tad bit much Clark," Tess said looking over his shoulder.

"They weren't my idea," Clark said to her and ran outside.

"Is this cool or what Clark!" Pete said to Clark.

"Why don't you just call the cops now Pete," Clark said to him. How could Pete do something like this?

"Sorry Clark. I can't take the credit for this," Pete revealed.

"If you didn't do this than who did?"

"I did," Lex answered. Clark saw his other friend walking over to him and Pete. "A party like this can be a make or break reputation. I wanted to make sure yours was a hit."

"Thanks Lex, but what about?"

"Oh don't worry about the cops. It's all taken care of-Tess?" Lex said noticing her behind Clark.

"Hi Lex," Tess said walking out from behind Clark's back.

"What're you doing here?" Lex asked her.

"Clark invited me," she said pointing to him.

"You two know each other?" Clark asked looking from Lex to Tess.

"Yeah. I live at the Luthor mansion," Tess answered. "Lex's father Lionel is my legal guardian," she answered.

"You mean your parents are?"

"Yes," she cut him off.

"I-I'm sorry Tess," Clark said not knowing any other words to say but those.

"Don't be," Tess said. "It's all in the past."

* * *

**The Barn**

"So," Whitney said to his girlfriend.

"So," Lana repeated not knowing what to say to Whitney.

"So you want to tell me why you didn't tell me you'd be coming here?" Whitney ultimately asked.

"I don't have to let you know where I am every minute of every day Whitney," Lana answered. "Clark invited me and I accepted. What's your deal with him anyway? First you make him the scarecrow and now you seem to have a problem with me being in the same vicinity as him."

"It's…complicated Lana," Whitney said.

"Well I may be your girlfriend Whitney, but that does not mean that I can't spend time with other people. I have a life outside of you," she said arms crossed. Whitney opened his mouth, but no words came out. He couldn't think of anything else to say. Luckily for him he didn't need to because he heard something in the barn.

"Who's there?" He called out. He heard the noise again. "Show yourself!" Still nothing, but the noise. "Stay here Lana. I'm going to go get Kent," he said and rand down the stairs and out the barn. Lana leaned against the railing of the loft while keeping an eye out for whatever was inside the barn. As she waited she felt a small stab of pain run through her head. Lana closed her eyes and rubbed her temples slightly and the pain subsided.

"Where did that come from?" She wondered.

"Lana!" She heard Clark this time. He and Whitney ascended the staircase; Clark had a flashlight and Whitney was holding onto a pitch fork.

"The noise came from there," Whitney pointed out. The three of them walked slowly over to where they saw someone hiding under a blanket. The person shook violently and then the shaking died down. They inched closer and closer and then Clark yanked the blanket off and Whitney raised the pitchfork.

"Wait!" Clark stopped Whitney from stabbing down. "Earl Jenkins?" Clark asked.

He nodded. "I need to see your father. He's the only one I can trust," Earl said. He was covered from head to toe in sweat and looked like he was five seconds away from a nervous breakdown. Clark tried to help him up, but felt the sick feeling he got from when he was near meteor rocks. He looked at Lana and saw she wasn't wearing her necklace. Then where was he feeling the pain from?

"Let me help you up," Lana offered. She reached toward Earl, but when her hand came into contact with his arm it felt like it was on fire. Lana flinched backward just as Earl entered into another violent spasm.

"Whitney," Clark said.

"Way ahead of you Kent," Whitney said dialing 911 on his cell phone. Lana looked down at her hand. The burning sensation had gone away, but what had caused it?

* * *

**The following morning**

"Last night could've gone better," Clark thought. The only bright spot the entire party was Tess until she had to leave that is. She was acting differently after she ran into Lex. Clark decided to think about that later. Right now he had a giant mess to clean up. Clark sighed. "If I must," he said and entered super speed clean mode. He swept up the floors, put the chairs back in the proper places, bagged up all the garbage, unclogged the kitchen sink, disposed of the few broken dishes, put the unbroken dishes in the dishwasher, checked to make sure no one let any of the animals loose form the barn, and sped back into the house.

"That's a minute and a half of my life I'm never getting back," he thought. Satisfied that his work was done Clark grabbed an apple and placed it in the bowl with the rest of the fruits. "And best of all my parents will never know." The sound of clapping reached Clark's ears and he froze in place. He slowly turned around and saw his mom and dad at the staircase; his mom holding a plunger. "You're home early," he said nervously.

"We called six times last night and spoke with six different people. None of whom knew who you were," Martha said; disappointment evident in her voice.

"I'd ask what went on here last night, but it's pretty obvious," Jonathan said.

"I invited some friends over and it kind of got out of hand," Clark confessed.

"Parties always get out of hand son," Jonathan sighed. "Is there anything else we need to know about?"

"Yes actually. You guys aren't going to believe this, but I found Earl Jenkins hiding in the barn."

* * *

**The hospital**

"How is he?" Jonathan asked the doctor.

"Better than he was last night. His tremors were so violent that we had to sedate him before he hurt himself or someone else.

"Do you know how this could've happened?"

"He claims that the Luthor Corp. plant is responsible for it. He's been rambling on about some place called Level 3. Nobody knows what he's talking about."

"My class is going on a field trip to the plant later today," Clark said. "Maybe I can talk to Lex and see if he knows anything."

Earl listened intently to their conversation; the sedation having worn off just a while back. He was going to find out what happened to him if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

**The Luthor Mansion**

Tess sat cross legged on her bed in the mansion just staring at an old photo she had of her mother. She missed her every minute of every day. It hurt to even think back to that day when she found out she was dead. Tess felt one tear roll down her cheek and wiped it away when she heard someone knock at her door. "Come in," she said putting the picture away.

"Tess. Are you ready for school?" Lionel asked entering her room.

"Yes Mr. Luthor," Tess replied.

"Tess we've been through this. To you I'm always Lionel," he said in that fatherly tone of his. Tess gave him a half smile. "I hope you're ready to see one of my many places of business," Lionel said to her.

"I must admit. I am pretty curios as to what goes on in there," Tess said jumping off her bed.

"Believe me Tess. Sometime even I can't believe what goes on behind those walls," he said leading her out the door.

**A/N: Lionel is Tess' legal guardian! Yeah nothing suspicious about that. And what seems to be going on with Lana? Keep reading for the answers. **


	5. Jitters Part 2

**A/N: The chapter following this one will be a mix of both 'Rogue' and 'Nicodemus'. I'm going to try to make those chapters as different from the originals as possible so this story won't get boring; after those two episodes I will do 'Leech'. I know that 'Leech' comes before 'Nicodemus', but hey this is fan fiction. The basic plots of 'Rogue' and 'Nicodemus' will still be intact to an extent.**

Earl could feel the jitters starting up again. He had escaped from the hospital and was now sneaking through the halls of the Luthor Corp. Plant heading for the elevator where they kept level 3. That's where his problems started and he was convinced it's where they could all end. Earl, however, was in for a rude awakening when he reached the room that housed the elevator to take down to level three.

"Where is it? Where's the elevator! ?" He shouted in frustration. Earl was growing increasingly desperate.

"What are you doing here?" He heard one of the plant's security members ask him. Earl felt a tremor coming just as the man grabbed his arm to turn him around. The guard was dead in an instant. Earl let out an angered growl and grabbed the man's gun. He was going to find out whatever happened to level 3 if it was the last thing he did.

Meanwhile Clark and the rest of his classmates' bus pulled up to the Plant. Upon entering the building they were greeted by Chloe's father, Gabe Sullivan. The tour was boring for the most part. Clark noticed that nearly no one seemed to be actually paying attention to what Gabe was saying. Chloe had one of those 'I love you, but I'm five seconds away from screaming' looks. Whitney had his gaze directed at the floor. Lana kept playing with her necklace. Pete seemed to be muttering the lyrics to 'Save Me'. Jimmy was looking at every square inch of the hallway and every now and then he'd rise up his hands and realize that he doesn't have his camera with him. Last but not least Tess just seemed real distant like she had her mind on other things. As they rounded another corner Earl suddenly appeared from out of nowhere with a gun in his hands. He grabbed Gabe's neck and pointed the gun straight at his head.

"Take me to level 3," he said. He didn't shout it, but his tone made it clear that he wasn't in the mood to be messed with.

"What are you talking about?" Gabe asked him trying to keep a cool head.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. Perhaps you need a little something to help refresh your memory." Earl looked up at the students and aimed his gun at the ceiling. He fired a single shot. "That's your only warning shot," he warned him. "Unless any of you are faster than the speed of light I suggest you all come with me."

"What about security?" Chloe asked him. "I think they're gonna notice that an entire field trip of students suddenly went missing."

"They're detained with a wild goose chase I sent them on," Earl said. "Now come on!" This time he shouted. The students didn't need to be told twice and followed Earl; all of them except Clark. He had been at the back of the group and he was sure Earl hadn't seen him. It was time to get to the bottom of this Level 3 mystery once and for all. Once the coast was clear Clark super sped off. Meanwhile Lana started to feel light headed once again. What was wrong with her? These headaches just started to randomly appear with no explanation.

"Are you alright Lana?' Whitney asked noticing her rubbing her forehead.

"I'm good," she half-lied. The pain had once again gone away, but she was still frightened as to what was causing it. Earl led everyone to what appeared to be the central control room for the plant. He forced everyone to sit down in a corner and forced Gabe into a chair. His eyes traveled back over to the students every few minutes to make sure they weren't going to try anything stupid.

"No one tries to be a hero and we all go home happy," he threatened. Earl then grabbed one of the phones in the room and proceeded to call the police and inform them of the situation at hand. "This'll get Luthor's attention," he said and proceeded to wait for the cops while still interrogating Gabe about Level 3, which he claimed every time to have no knowledge of.

"Chloe," Jimmy whispered to her.

"Yeah," she said not taking her eyes of her father.

"Have you seen CK?"

Chloe looked throughout the group and didn't see him anywhere. Chloe hoped she was right about Clark for their sakes at this point. Wherever he disappeared to she hoped he was thinking of a way of getting them out of this mess.

* * *

"Come on! There has to be something around here," Clark thought as he checked out the main office. This was the fourth area of the building he'd been through. He wasn't sure how much time he was going to have before Earl would wind up hurting someone. He shut the file cabinet and walked over to the desk. "Yes!" Clark thought. He found the blue prints for the plant. He quickly went over it and saw that it was true. There really wasn't a level 3. How was he going to break that to Earl without him going off on someone? Only one way to find out. Clark rolled up the blueprint and started to walk out when he knocked over one of the files. He picked it up and put it back on the desk without looking at it and ran out the door. Had Clark actually paid attention to the file he might have been intrigued by what it was called:

_**Project Mercer**_

* * *

What was going on inside of the Plant was relatively tame and orderly compared to what was going on outside. The police and SWAT team had arrived on the scene in record time and the families of all the hostages were swarming outside the fence. The sound of an approaching vehicle made them all move out of the way allowing Lex Luthor to drive in through the gates.

"Lex!" Lex heard Jonathan Kent yell. He saw him and Martha standing just outside the gate. "Let them through," he said to one of the officers and then left his car to meet up with his dad and the members of the SWAT team. The officer nodded and walked over to the gate.

"Good to see you Mr. and Mrs. Kent. I only wish it were under better circumstances," Deputy Michael Birtigo said to the two of them. Michael had shortly been employed following the arrest of Tina Greer.

"Nice to see you too Deputy," Martha Kent said. "Do you know what's going on in there?"

"All we know is that some nut is holding the kids hostage. He says he wants to talk with Lionel or Lex. Both of them are here now so the SWAT team is going to wait it out before they take any action. Personally I think we need to get inside before that fruit cake kills anybody," Michael said.

* * *

**Back Inside**

The phone started to ring and Gabe answered it. "It's Lionel Luthor," he told Earl.

"Speaker," Earl said to him. Gabe did as he was told and switched the phone to speaker mode. "Mr. Luthor. Glad to see I've got your attention," Earl said. The conversation didn't go well for the most part. Lionel and Lex both denied the existence of level 3, which only made Earl even madder.

"They're telling the truth." Earl looked away from the phone at the sound of Clark's voice. He was on the other side of the room with the blueprints tucked underneath his arm. "I found these blueprints. There is no level 3." Clark walked closer to Earl and tossed them over to him. Earl glared at Clark and went over the prints.

"Every night I go to level 2 and I take the elevator down to level 3!" He shouted. "You're just like everybody else," he said to Clark. "Now sit down!" He ordered. Clark backed away from Earl and sat down next to his fellow classmates. He looked at his hands and saw that the veins weren't green.

"So much for Clark speeding in and saving the day," Chloe thought.

"We need to do something," she heard Whitney say.

"Don't try to be a hero," Chloe thought knowing that Whitney was going to wind up hurt if he tried something.

"Two of us can take him. How about it Clark?" He asked. Clark looked at Earl and back at his hands.

"I can't," Clark said.

Lana looked at Clark and said, "It's ok." Whitney looked at the two and Chloe thought she saw a spark of jealousy in his eyes as he slowly stood up and began to sneak towards Earl. He was close enough to ambush Earl when he suddenly turned around. Whitney made a quick grab for the gun, but Earl side-stepped him surprisingly fast and punched him in the face. Whitey fell down and went for another run when Earl started to tremor again and grabbed onto a valve to hold himself steady. The valve didn't hold and he yanked the thing from the wall and hit Whitney in his right shoulder with incredible force. Whitney thought he heard every bone in his shoulder break as he slid down to the floor. Despite the agonizing pain he tried to get up prompting Earl to point his gun at him. Just as he pulled the trigger Clark punched Earl's wrist directing the gun away from Whitney. Fighting back against the burning sensation he felt in his body Clark made an attempt to take the gun away from Earl. Earl had another tremor attack and smacked the gun against Clark's chin launching him back.

"Clark!" Tess cried out and ran to his aid. Pete and Jimmy ran over to Whitney and helped him back to the rest of the group.

"See what you've made me do," Earl whispered and then stared at the camera. "See what you've made me do," he repeated and then shot the camera out so the SWAT team couldn't see inside anymore.

* * *

"What was that kid thinking?" Lionel asked.

"That's the thing. He wasn't thinking," Jonathan answered. "And if you guys don't do something soon more of the kids are going to try to take matters into their own hands."

"If we don't do something soon they won't have a chance to try again," Lex said.

"What are you talking about?" Martha asked.

"He ripped off the gas valve and now the pressure is going to continue to rise until… well you get the idea."

"Well what are you guys waiting for? One of you has to do something," Martha said to the SWAT team. She knew Clark could survive a lot of things, but she didn't know if he could survive this.

"Looks like someone already has done something," Jonathan said.

"What are you talking about?" Lex asked and then noticed that Deputy Birtigo was missing.

* * *

Michael was tired of those guys waiting. Action needed to be taken if they were going to rescue the kids from that nut job so when they weren't looking he managed to find a way to sneak inside the plant. Michael broke into a run as he headed for the room the kids were in; he rounded a corner and ran into someone else.

"Freeze! Police!" Michael shouted mainly out of reflex.

"Don't shoot! I work here!" Rudy quickly said; hands raised.

"What are you still doing here? The entire staff was ordered to evacuate," Michael said holstering his gun.

"I had the misfortune of running into Earl when he first entered the plant. He knocked me out cold. I regained consciousness only a few minutes ago." Michael noticed that part of Rudy's forehead was bleeding providing some evidence to his story.

"Well get out of here. I'm going to stop that man," Michael said already starting to walk past him.

"Hold on there. You walk into that room and that guys going to shoot first and ask questions later," Rudy said to stop him.

"You got any better ideas?"

"Yes as a matter of fact."

* * *

Earl was pacing around the room again as the gas pressure continued to rise. Whitney was still in a large amount of pain and needed a doctor. Clark knew that he needed to do something, but he couldn't without exposing himself. As time continued to pass by the door on the kids' side of the room started to slowly open.

"Who's there?" Earl asked pointing his gun again.

"You can relax, Earl. It's just me," Rudy said slowly stepping forward with his hands up.

"Rudy. What are you doing here?"

"I'm just here to talk," he said not putting down his hands. "You and I both know that you don't want to hurt anybody," he said.

"How do you know that?"

"I just do," he said while the door on the other side of the room slowly opened up. Michael stepped in and held up a hand so the students would keep quiet. "I know you want help Earl, but holding these kids captive isn't going to do that. And even if this level 3 does exist is finding a cure worth losing your freedom because once you step outside these doors the cops are going to arrest you; maybe even shoot you and not give it a second thought. Now tell me Earl; is it worth it?" For a moment Earl looked like he was considering what Rudy said, but the moment soon passed.

"If there's one thing I've learned from working with you Rudy, it's that you'd never have the guts to waltz in here alone." And with that Earl spun around and fired his gun. Michael dove out of harm's way behind a few desks. He couldn't risk firing his gun for fear of hitting the kids. Earl fired a few more bullets and the next thing he knew he was being tackled to the floor by Jimmy. Earl shoved Jimmy off him and aimed his weapon, but Rudy stepped in the path of the bullet and was hit in the shoulder. Michael jumped out of his hiding spot and rushed Earl knocking them both to the floor. Upon hitting it Earl's gun went off and a stray bullet soared at the group of students. They all threw themselves down to the floor to avoid the bullet, but none of them felt it pierce their skin. Chloe opened her eyes and saw the part of the wall that the bullet hit. Just under that spot was Clark, who was covering Tess Mercer.

"Add another point to the 'Clark Kent might be the meteor freak' scoreboard," she thought. Lana saw Clark covering Tess and she couldn't help, but feel a slight twinge of jealousy in her stomach, which she didn't understand.

"Are you ok?" Clark asked Tess.

"Yeah. Thanks to you it seems," she said with a smile. Another shot rang out prompting the students to hit the floor again. Earl had stolen Michael's gun and they were now fighting for control of it.

"Stop! That's enough!" Lex yelled. Earl and Michael stopped fighting for the gun and looked at him.

"Lex. Lionel's sending his own kid to do his dirty work. That's low even for him."

"My father didn't send me Earl. I came here on my own. Let the kids go and I'll take you to level 3."

Earl's eyes narrowed. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't, but you won't get answers by continuing to hold everyone captive. Earl looked at Lex and then the students. "Everyone out," he said to them. The students got up and raced for the exits. Clark ran to Rudy's side and helped him up to his feet.

"Are you ok Rudy?" He asked him.

"It'll take a lot more than a bullet to the shoulder to take this guy down," he said as they ran out of the room.

"Now; let's talk," Earl said once everyone was out of the room.

* * *

"Pete; take Rudy," Clark said handing the janitor off to his friend.

"Clark what are you doing?" Pete asked, but Clark was already racing back inside. Pete tried to go after him, but the doors to the plant sealed shut. Clark super sped to where he saw the elevator on the blueprints and saw no trace of it. He X-rayed the wall and saw a wall had been built over it. Wasting no time he demolished the wall and then ran for the nearest intercom.

"Earl? Are you there? It's Clark."

"Get out of here Clark!" He heard Lex yell.

"Earl; the elevator is still here. They just built a wall over it."

"Stop lying Clark," Earl said.

"It's really here. Don't you want to see it?"

"You better not be lying Clark," Earl said. Clark waited a few minutes then super sped back to the control room. He grabbed the spot where the valve was and started to turn it in order to make the gas pressure go down. Once they reached safe levels he super sped again back to the elevator. He pressed the button to summon the elevator back up and stepped inside. He saw there was only two buttons.

"I wonder," Clark thought and pressed the spot underneath the second button. It lit up and the elevator went down. Clark exited it and saw Lex and Earl standing on the railing.

"Clark you have to believe me. I didn't know this was down here," Lex said to Clark hoping he'd believe him.

"Don't listen to him Clark. Lying is all the Luthors ever do. They've even moved everything that was down here. I can never be helped now," he said and his tremors started back up. Earl grabbed the railing and his tremors caused the whole thing to start to fall down. Clark ran forward and caught Lex while Earl hung on to Lex's legs. Clark felt the burning sensation in his body again, but he couldn't let go. Fighting with every last ounce of strength he had Clark dragged both men back up. The entire structure began to collapse and the three ran back to the elevator making inside as the whole thing fell to the floor below.

"Clark. How did you manage to pull us both up?" Lex curiously asked.

"It must've been a surge of adrenaline," Clark replied.

"Adrenaline… right," Lex thought. Clark had always been a mystery to him and that miraculous rescue only added to it. "You're hiding something," he thought. Once they three of them made it back outside Clark was thrown into a death hug by his parents while Earl was sent back to the hospital. Rudy was also sent to the hospital to treat his gun shot wound. Lex and Lionel had a few choice words to say to one another about level 3, but Lionel soon closed the matter.

"Had to go back and be the hero, huh Clark?" Tess asked him.

"I'm no hero," Clark replied to her. "I just didn't want to leave Lex behind."

"You've got guts though Kent. I'll give you that," Michael said joining the conversation. "Most people wouldn't go back into a hazardous building like you did."

"Thanks Deputy Birtigo," Clark thanked.

"You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go and explain my 'actions' to the SWAT team," he said putting air quotes around actions.

"Does anything normal ever happen in this town?" Tess asked Clark.

"Normal and Smallville go together like water and oil," Chloe joked getting a laugh from the rest of the group.

* * *

**A few days later**

Lex read the front page of the newspaper and tossed it off his desk. The page read:

**Man who took hostages at the Luthor plant found dead in his hospital bed**

Lex's phone started to ring and he answered it. "Hello? Yes I read the paper. I don't care if he was a security risk. Next time don't do anything without my orders. Is that understood? Good," Lex hung up the phone just as someone knocked at the door. "Come In," Lex said to the person knocking at the door. The door opened slightly and Rudy popped his head into the office.

"You wanted to see me Mr. Luthor?" He asked.

"Ah, Rudy. Come in. Come in," Lex said. Rudy fully stepped inside the office and shut the door behind him with his good arm; his other one in a sling. "Please take a seat." Rudy sat in the chair just in front of Lex. "I must say Rudy that when that Earl broke in here and took the students hostage I wasn't expecting you to try anything. However, you surprised not only me, but everyone else when you tried to stop him without endangering the kids' lives."

"I know a lot of those teenagers from my other job back at the High School. Just didn't want to see any of them hurt," Rudy said wondering where this is going.

"Well if there's anything I can do for you Rudy; anything at all just name it."

"There is something actually," Rudy said reaching into his pocket. "I found this a while back at Smallville High, but I have no idea what it is. This may sound crazy, but I don't think this thing is of Earth," he said placing the octagon on Lex's desk. "Maybe you could take a look at it," Rudy suggested already starting to head out the door. Just before he left he stopped and said, "Oh and I'd like a raise. A big one," and he exited Lex's office. Lex curiously overlooked the octagonal disk. The small symbols etched on it catching his attention the most.

**A/N: Michael Birtigo first appeared in 'Obscura', FYI. So what will Lex do with the octagon? Who was he talking with over the phone? What is Project Mercer? Chloe is still suspicious of Clark and now it looks like Lana may be starting to get jealous of Clark's friendship with Tess. And there will also be repercussions from Whitney's injury this chapter though I won't say how. You'll just have to read on. Hope you liked this part. See ya!**


	6. Rogue

**A/N: Like I said last chapter, I'm going to change things up a bit plot wise with Rogue and Nicodemus. Try to at least. Enjoy!**

Clark felt intensely out of place. He knew just about absolutely nobody here. If Lex hadn't asked him to come to this little event he'd be back at the farm milking cows or bailing hay or doing something in his comfort zone. And yet here he was in Metropolis trying to act normal… at least as normal as he could be anyway.

"Well don't you look stressed out," Tess said appearing at his side.

"Just a tad out of my element," Clark half laughed.

"Smile you two," Jimmy said jumping in front of them and snapping a photo before they could stop him. "If only you two could see your faces right now. But wait. Once I develop these photos I can show you," Jimmy chuckled.

"Jimmy; you aren't actually planning on," Clark started.

"Only kidding C.K. I wasn't hired to snap embarrassing photos. So let's try again. Smile," he said raising up his camera. Clark smiled and put his arm around Tess' waist while she smiled and put her's around Clark's shoulder. Jimmy snapped the photo and then headed off to take more photos of the event.

"Wondered who Jimmy meant by 'they'," Clark thought out loud while moving his hand from Tess' waist.

"Lex paid him $100 bucks to take pictures of this event. Lionel wanted someone more professional, but I showed some of Jimmy's work to Lex and he thought he wasn't too bad," Tess explained.

"Speaking of Lex, where is he? Never did get a chance to thank him for inviting me."

"He's probably trying to avoid Jimmy at all costs for all we know," Chloe said walking up to Clark and Tess. "He's been snapping photos of virtually everything in sight. Nothing has gone unsnapped. He's taken a picture of everything and everyone in here; no matter what they were doing. All he needs now is a crime in progress," Chloe joked.

"Someone stop him!" The three friends heard somebody scream. Clark saw a man was plowing through the crowd in an attempt to escape the building. Clark was about to step in when someone dove out of the crowd and tackled the man to the floor.

"You know the drill. You have the right to remain silent and all that junk," Deputy Birtigo said to the guy already snapping the hand cuffs on him. Jimmy ran to the scene and took a picture of Birtigo making his arrest. He gave Jimmy a 'put that camera down' look before turning his attention back to the thief. "I believe that this is yours," he said handing a purse to a woman who stopped in front of the deputy.

"Thank you sir," she said.

"Anytime Ms.," he replied.

"Ok what seems to be the trouble here?" Another woman asked entering the scene.

"Just a routine arrest, Maggie," Michael said to the police Lieutenant.

"It's Margaret, Birtigo," she said to the deputy. "And last I checked this isn't Smallville so if you'd just kindly hand the dirt bag over to me, I'll be on my way."

"I got to him first that makes it my arrest," Michael said.

"Listen Andy Griffith," Maggie began, but then her police radio went off.

"This is Maggie, I mean Lieutenant Sawyer," she corrected herself. "Understood. I'm on my way," she said. "Bank's being robbed. The arrest is all yours Mayberry," she said to him and ran out of the building. Michael balled up his fists; he was every bit the cop that Maggie was yet every time he tries to make some sort of arrest while in Metropolis she always shows up to take the credit. Just because she was some big shot cop didn't give her the right to be so… he couldn't think of the right words, but it wasn't anything good.

"That woman really boils my blood, Clark…Clark?" Michael looked up and saw Clark was gone.

"That's funny. He was just here a second ago," Tess said looking around for him.

"I have a bet on where he's probably gone," Chloe thought. She still had no concrete proof that Clark was the meteor freak, but as the weeks continued to go on by she just became more and more suspicious of him. The mysterious rescues; always showing up at the right time or disappearing when trouble started. Still, a part of her didn't want to believe that it was Clark. But at the same time another part did.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

"Remember. None of you move and none of you get hurt," the bank robber said to the innocent bystanders all forced to the floor. "You guys want to hurry up with that money? I'd like to not be here when the cops show up," he said to his partners looting the vault. As they continued their little withdrawal Clark appeared just outside the bank. He x-rayed it and saw five armed men and at least 10 people being held hostage. Hopefully he could get in and out without anyone getting hurt or getting seen. So taking a deep breath Clark sped into the bank and punched the first robber trying to hold back as much of his strength so that he wouldn't kill him.

"What the Hell was that! ?" One of the robbers shouted. They all dropped the money they were loading and pointed their guns in every direction, but saw nothing. Clark sped into the scene again taking out another robber.

"Show yourself! ?" One of them yelled and then before Clark could stop him he started to fire his gun. The world slowed down for Clark as the bullets went flying. He saw two of the bullets going for two hostages on opposite sides of the room and ran faster than he thought he could. He put a hand in front of the first bullet deflecting it (more like breaking it. It still left a mark on his hand) and then sprinted towards the other side of the room. He dove and caught the bullet before it could hit the other hostage. Clark hit the ground and almost fell out of his super speed mode. He managed to hold onto it and took down the third and fourth robber before speeding back out of the building again into an alleyway. He was about to speed back in for the fifth man when he heard the sound of police sirens approaching the bank. He saw Lieutenant Sawyer stepping out of her car along with a group of officers. Deciding not to stick around Clark sped off. Maggie and her partners raced into the bank expecting to see the robbers; they did, but were shocked, to say the least, that they were all unconscious.

"Looks like somebody beat you to it Lieutenant," Sam Phelan said stepping into the bank.

"Phelan? What are you doing here?" Maggie asked not particularly thrilled to see him.

"Last I checked it was my job to help capture criminals," he said to her in a sarcastic manner.

"Ignoring that," Maggie said and walked over to one of the robbers. "Let's see what we have here," she said and took off his mask. "What the…?"

"What is it Lieutenant?" One of the other officers asked.

"This guy's a cop," she answered recognizing his face. "Check the others," she said to them. They nodded and unmasked the other robbers.

"All cops, Lieutenant."

"Damn it," she muttered. The last thing Maggie needed to deal with was dirty cops. "We're there any others?" She asked a hostage.

"There was one more. He must've gotten away."

"Who did this? Who stopped these guys?" She asked curious as to who could've done this.

"I don't know. I didn't see his face. It was all a blur." Maggie questioned the other hostages about what they saw and she received the same response from all of them. Deciding this was a lost cause she and the other officers arrested the crooked cops and took them to jail. She had of course heard the rumors about people with special powers, but that's all they were to her; rumors. She wasn't going to believe that there was someone out there that was faster than a speeding bullet.

* * *

Phelan let tonight's events play back in his head as he drove back to the station. He couldn't believe his luck tonight. This robbery set up by him and his partners was supposed to go by smoothly and then some force literally appears out of nowhere and wrecks the whole thing. It was fortunate for him that he ran for it after the second man was taken down for two reasons. One, he'd be arrested. Luckily for him if his partners tried to rat him out no one would believe them since they had no way to link him to the crime. But most of all he wouldn't have seen the person who took down his crew. He was running into the alley when he felt that gust of wind. The kid couldn't have been any older than 15 years old. Whoever he was he was going to learn what happens when you mess with Sam Phelan.

**A/N: Sorry. I couldn't resist the 'it was all a blur line'. Next chapter begins the merging of Rogue and Nicodemus. Maggie will play a big part in this section of the story. See ya then!**


	7. Soft Core Lana Hard Core Tess

Lieutenant Maggie Sawyer was in one of her moods. Everyone could tell and they were all wise to keep their distance from her. Not only did she discover that there were dirty cops in, but those same cops refused to rat out their fifth member, which aggravated her to no end. They were going to find out the hard way what happens when you present Margaret Sawyer with a challenge. She was going to find out who the other dirty cop was if it was the last thing she did. That's why she was ordering back ground checks on virtually everyone in the station.

This news would normally make any cop with something to hide sweat; but not Phelan. He smiled at the thought that no matter how far Margaret searched she was never going to dig up anything on him. He'd made sure of it. It paid to have friends in very high places.

* * *

Meanwhile just outside of Smallville, Deputy Birtigo had to pull over his police car after it got a flat.

"I hate this job," he muttered to himself as he fixed his car. "I hate that freaking big shot, Sawyer," he seethed. One day he was going to give her a piece of his mind. He stopped trying to put in a new tire for a second to take in a few breaths. He then turned to his right and saw the weirdest thing. A strange plant; upon closer inspection the plant sprayed some kind of substance into his face.

* * *

**The next morning**

Lana walked into her Aunt Nell's flower shop half asleep. She had a nasty head ache all night long. And her relationship issues with Whitney weren't helping matters either. He'd been rather cold and distant since the incident at the Luthor Corp plant. That shoulder injury had cost him his scholarship and he blamed the whole thing on Clark for not backing him up. Lana didn't understand why he disliked him so much. It's not like he ever did anything to him. Clark; he's probably been the only good thing in Lana's life these past few weeks. She'd begun to see him differently as of late, but she wasn't sure how he saw her. Especially given how much time he'd been spending with Tess. She wondered what was going on between the two of them.

"Good morning Lana," Nell greeted her.

"Morning Aunt Nell," Lana said giving her aunt a hug. "So why did you need to see me before I went to School?" She asked.

"Something interesting that I found," she said and then directed Lana's gaze towards a flower she had never seen before. "I just found it out in the woods. I've never seen anything like it. Thought you might want a look," she said with her back turned to Lana for a second. Lana looked at the flower curiously. It definitely wasn't anything she had seen before, but it did look very interesting. Suddenly something shot out of the flower into Lana's face. She coughed a few times, which got Nell's attention.

"Lana! Are you alright?" She asked. Lana shook her head a bit then faced Nell.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm alright now."

"You sure?" She asked sounding concerned.

"Yes. In fact, I've never felt better. I have to now or I'll be late for school," Lana said and headed out the door before Nell could question her any further.

* * *

Tess had tried to sleep as late as possible, but she unfortunately had school to attend. She had spent the better part of last night at Lex's event for that Alexander the Great chest plate. She also spent the other part of her night thinking about Clark. He wasn't like the other guys at School. She could just be herself around him. She wondered just how he truly felt, but had a feeling that if she ever questioned him about it he'd probably just say that he thought of her as a good friend and that he'd like things to remain that way. She put that out of her mind for now and opened the door to Lex's study.

"Good morning, Lex," she said to him. Lex closed down his computer and gave Tess a smile. He could use a distraction from all the failed tests at determining what the octagonal disk that Rudy gave him was. It was driving him nuts.

"Hello, Tess," he said to her. "What can I do for you?"

Tess laughed slightly. "It's Monday. You were supposed to give me a lift to school. Remember?" Lex slapped his forehead.

"I'm sorry Tess. I had completely forgotten," he confessed. He was about to get up and go get his keys when the doors to the study suddenly swung open.

"Looks like I caught you at just the right time Lex," Sam Phelan said.

"This won't take long Tess. Get your stuff and wait for me at the car," he said to her. Tess obeyed and left the men to their conversation. Once Tess left the study and grabbed her backpack she decided to take a little look around the mansion. She'd only been her for a short time and hadn't seen many sections of it. Tess walked to the back and saw a greenhouse. She stepped inside and saw the most peculiar thing; a flower she had never seen before. She got closer to it and then the thing sprayed her with something. Tess coughed and then felt a strange sensation take over her body. She wasn't sure what it was, but she liked it.

* * *

"So, to what do I owe this visit, Phelan?" Lex asked the corrupt cop.

"I'm just making sure that you kept your end of the deal concerning what went down at club zero that night," Sam said to him.

"You must've done something pretty low to come to me to ensure that your record is clean," Lex said to him.

"Let's just say there is a very stubborn cop on the force," Phelan said exiting the study.

* * *

**Mysterious hero halts bank robbery. Police Lieutenant Maggie Sawyer has no comment on the issue at this time.**

Chloe laughed as she read the online news article from the Daily Planet. If there was one thing police hated more than failing to stop a crime it's not being the ones to stop it. It was near the end of the day and mostly everyone had left the building. Today was weird even for Smallville. Lana had seemingly been switched with a parallel soft core version of herself. It was freaky to say the least.

"Hi Chloe," Clark said walking into the Torch.

"Hey Clark. Did you hear the news? A robbery was stopped at the bank in Metropolis," she said.

"So?" Clark asked trying not to look suspicious.

"So, all the hostages claimed that something faster than light blurred into the scene and took out all of the robbers," She said. "It might've been our meteor freak."

"Blurred? Couldn't you have come up with a better word than that?" Clark asked her.

"You've got a better name?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, but it's taken," Clark joked.

Chloe giggled at his comment. "Oddly enough the robbery was stopped the same night we were all in Metropolis. Where did you disappear to that night anyway?" She asked.

"Oh… I just needed some air," he said after a slight hesitation.

"Right and Smallville is a normal quiet town," she thought.

"What's with the weird looking flower?" Clark asked pointing to the flower on her desk to change the subject.

"It was left for me," she answered.

"How do you know it was left for you?" He asked. Chloe held up a piece of paper to his eyes.

**To the master of the weird and unexplained. **

**Love,**

**Your admirer**

"You have an admirer?" Clark asked.

"You don't think I wrote this to myself do you Clark?" She said in a fake insulted tone.

"No, no. Of course not," he said to her. "Who do you think sent it?"

"Good question," Chloe answered. In the back of her mind she was hoping it might be Clark, but the odds of that actually happening were pretty slim. "Whoever brought it accidently left behind a receipt from the flower shop. I could just ask Nell who bought it, but she'd probably give me the customer privacy excuse," Chloe sighed. "I'll be right back. Can you watch the Torch for a few minutes? Thanks bye," Chloe said before Clark could even answer her. Clark sighed and looked the flower over more. It was certainly strange.

"Hello Clark," Tess greeted. Clark turned around and saw Tess leaning on the door frame. Clark swallowed thickly. Tess had a different, almost lustful look in her eyes.

"Hi Tess," he stammered. "What do you want?" He asked.

"You know what I want," Tess said getting very close to Clark until there was literally no space between them. Clark could feel the heat rising between them and started to get nervous.

"Something wrong Clark?" Tess asked running a hand down his arm.

"Um, Tess," Clark stammered and took a step back. He wound up falling into the chair behind him. Tess stepped forward and straddled Clark with that look still in her eyes. "What are you doing?" He choked out.

"You know what your problem is Clark?" She asked him. "Like I told you before, you're wound up way too tight," she whispered this time making Clark's pulse race a bit. She started kissing his neck and Clark felt his eyes start to shut from the feeling. "You need to learn to relax and just forget about inhibitions," she said sliding her hands underneath his shirt and running them all over his chest. Clark felt his hand move their way to the back of Tess' shirt and slid one underneath it while the other squeezed her ass. Tess' breathing quickened especially when Clark started kissing her neck. Tess unbuttoned part of Clark's shirt and started to assault his chest with her lips while Clark buried his face in her hair. Tess pushed Clark back down and stared intently into his eyes; running a hand over his lips, which Clark kissed. "Kiss me," she whispered. Clark simply nodded and they leaned into each other when he stopped only a couple of inches from her mouth just to tease her. He could feel both their pulses racing at the same speed. Just when they were about to close the gap someone cleared their throat very loudly snapping Clark out of his stupor. He quickly pulled back and gently moved Tess off of him.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Lana asked standing just outside the Torch glaring at Tess.

"Actually you were," Tess said returning Lana's stare. As they stared at each other Clark made a break for it nearly super speeding out of the Torch. What the Hell had come over him. He'd never acted that way with… well anybody in his entire life. And what was up with Tess. She was definitely acting more different than usual.

* * *

"I'd ask what you were doing, but it was pretty obvious," Lana said stepping into the room.

"Why do you care? Last I checked you already had a boyfriend Lana."

"He stopped being my boyfriend months ago. I was just too… I don't know reserved, to do anything about it," Lana said getting in Tess' face.

"You can forget about Clark, Lana. And I suggest that you get out of my face before I do something you might not like."

"Like what?" Lana asked not sounding the least bit threatened.

"This," Tess said and roughly shoved Lana. Lana's eyes narrowed and she threw out a punch. Tess caught Lana's wrist and started to squeeze it.

"Tess, stop it. For fuck's sake you're gonna break it!" She shouted. Tess smirked, twisted Lana's arm around her back and pinned her to the table.

"Not so tough are you," Tess chuckled. "I'm going to say this only one time Lana. Don't mess with me if you know what's good for you," and with that Tess released Lana's arm and exited the Torch. She wasn't sure where that sudden burst of strength had come from, but quite honestly she didn't care.

Lana couldn't believe that Tess almost broke off her arm. How the heck did she do that? As Lana thought about this she bumped into Whitney.

"We need to talk," he said to her.

"Whatever it is Whitney, I'm not interested," she said trying to side step him. Whitney grabbed her with his good arm to keep her from leaving.

"What's going on with you and Clark?" He asked her.

"Please, not this again!" Lana shouted at him. "I am so tired of your paranoid fixation with me and Clark!"

"Why shouldn't I! ? You're my girlfriend for crying out loud!" He yelled at her.

"Correction; I WAS your girlfriend," she said and shoved Whitney out of her way and into the Torch. Whitney felt his rage reach a boiling point and slammed his fist on the table almost hitting the flower Chloe left there. He looked at the odd plant and received its weird toxin in the face. Whitney fell back coughing and banged his head against the wall. He slid down and fell unconscious.

**A/N: I know it's kind of convenient how everyone got infected, but hey it's Smallville. Hope the story isn't moving too slowly for everyone.**


	8. Black Mail

"None of this made any sense," Maggie thought. Phelan's record was as clean as a whistle. Not even the slightest trace of anything sketchy in it. Two and two definitely didn't equal four here. Phelan was the last cop that she would ever expect to have a clean record. One look at the guy screams 'I have things to hide'. Phelan's name was the only one that kept popping in her mind ever since she found out about the dirty cops. She ran a hand down her face and started going through the security footage from the bank again, hoping she would see something that she didn't the last ten times she reviewed it. The footage started out like always. The guys walked in wearing ski masks, did the clichéd 'everyone on the floor, this is a stick up' line, and four of the goons guarded the vault while another man went inside to loot it. She did something different this time and turned the volume up to maximum. Turned out that was all that needed to be done.

"Are you sure he isn't going to try and double cross us?" One of the crooks asked.

"Relax. He may be the worst dirty cop out there, but I totally trust him," he said. "Plus I blackmailed him with a little bit of incriminating evidence that I have stashed in my apartment. He sells us out and I sell him out," he said. "No go and help him with the vault before the cops arrive. I'll stand guard."

A genuine smile formed on Maggie's face. "Now I've got you, ass-hole," She said to herself. She recognized the man's voice as that of Jack Hunt. "He always did seem like the blackmailing type," she thought heading for her boss's office. All she needed was a search warrant and she could sweep Jack's place for the evidence.

"Why do you look so cheerful?" Sam asked walking passed her. He'd never seen her in such a good mood. Actually no one in the entire station has ever seen her in a good mood. She's either angry, upset, or 'mess with me and you pay the price.'

"You'll find out Phelan," she said not wanting to tip him off that she was closing in on the dirty cop in the event that it was him. Phelan felt a tap on his shoulder and turned his attention behind him. He almost didn't recognize the face of Michael Birtigo. His expression would make you think he was a totally different man.

"What are you doing here Birtigo? Here to give Maggie a piece of your mind?" he joked.

"Believe me; I'd like to, but not here. Not now," Michael answered in a no-nonsense voice that caught Phelan off guard. "I'm actually here to see you. Why don't we go for a little walk," he said already leading Phelan out the front door and to an alleyway across the street.

"Ok. What do you want?"

"I know how much you hate Lieutenant Sawyer, Sam," Birtigo said. "I hate her too and want to see her dead."

"Do it yourself Michael. I hate her too, but I'd prefer not to draw any attention to myself, thank you," Sam said wondering what had gotten into the small town cop.

"Sure; try to act all calm even though you know Maggie's closing in on you," Michael said.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked nervously.

"I read the news Sam and every time our paths have crossed when I'm in Metropolis you've shown that you are the furthest thing from an honest cop as we can get," Michael continued. "The only reason Maggie could possibly be in a good mood would be that she's finally getting closer to discovering who the rotten cop is."

"But that's impossible. I made sure she couldn't link me to those guys and my record is spotless," Sam said hoping that Sheriff 'Mayberry' was just trying to scare him.

"Number one rule of being a dirty cop; never trust other dirty cops as they'll always have some sort of blackmail on them. Why don't you go question your so called partners? When you're ready to save your hide, give me a call," and the deputy sheriff walked away from Sam.

"Looks like I've got some interrogating to do," Sam thought running back for the police station hoping he hadn't been found out yet.

* * *

**Meanwhile in Smallville**

Dr Hamilton nervously entered Lex's study wondering how he was going to break the news to him.

"Dr. Hamilton," Lex acknowledged knowing that something was up and had a feeling that he should thank his lucky stars that he had the best lawyers money could buy. "If there's a problem doctor just tell me now and get it over with."

"Yes there is a problem. The flowers I was researching."

"The Nicodemus flowers?" Lex asked cutting him off.

"Yes. There have been reports of infection."

"How many?" Lex asked.

"At the moment just two; both high school students. Whitney Forman and Lana Lang."

"How is this possible? I thought you had the flowers contained in your research lab."

"They still are in my research lab and there haven't been any signs of it being broken into. My only guess is that there must've been more of the flowers than we anticipated."

"We'll worry about that later. Can you cure the infection?" Lex asked.

"I should be able to; hopefully."

"You better or you'll find yourself looking for another job, doctor. Now get out of my sight," he ordered him. The doctor nodded and exited Lex's study. Lex let out a frustrated sigh. Thus far the studies on the disk were going nowhere and now this has to happen. What could possibly go wrong next? Though he felt somewhat bad for thinking it, Lex couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Clark had been infected. Perhaps he would reveal whatever it is he's hiding. He's been keeping secrets since the day they met despite their friendship. One way or another Lex was going to discover what Clark wanted to keep hidden.

* * *

Clark paced around his fortress of solitude/ the barn loft trying to process what had happened today. First Tess comes onto him, then Whitney is found unconscious in the Torch, and finally Lana tries to climb up to the top of the windmill only to pass out on the way up and almost dies. Upon being checked into the hospital it was discovered that there was some sort of odd substance inside Lana's brain that was affecting her inhibitions. The same was for Whitney. Luckily for Clark Whitney was out cold from the start otherwise he probably would've tried attacking him and would break every bone he has in the process. Suddenly Clark heard something fall in the bottom of the barn. Clark descended the stairs and took a look around. There didn't seem to be anyone else here. He walked over to the table and saw one of the tools had fallen off. As he put it back on the table he heard something break and the next thing he knew the generator was falling on top of him. Clark pushed it off him and dusted himself off.

"How could that generator have fallen?" He wondered.

"What are they feeding you on this farm?" An unfamiliar voice asked him.

"Who are you?" Clark asked defensively.

"I'm your friend, Clark. You can call me Sam Phelan," Phelan said then showed Clark his badge. Clark could feel himself starting to sweat a little. This guy saw him get crushed under that generator and emerge completely unharmed.

"How did you know?" Clark asked.

"That you'd live? The same way I know you're super fast and strong." Clark put two and two together.

"You're the fifth bank robber."

"I plea the fifth, Kent and unless you want to be using that same excuse in the event that people just might find out about your powers, I suggest that you do as I say." Clark mentally berated himself. He should've been more careful when stopping that robbery and now it was going to cost him big time.

"What do you want?" Clark asked.

"Glad you're seeing things my way. Let's go for a drive," Phelan said leading Clark out the door.

Night had fallen by the time they had reached Metropolis. Phelan stopped his car outside of an apartment complex. He led Clark inside and stopped just outside one of the doors.

"What are we doing here?" Clark asked.

"Inside this apartment is something that I need you to get for me. My ex partner confessed to me that he hid it in a safe, but laughed in my face saying that I'd never be able to beat the alarm and that by the time I found it the police would be swarming the building and it would be pretty suspicious if they found me with the contents of the safe. That's where you come in Boy Scout. Do you stuff and bring the contents of the safe down to me at the car. If you ever want another moment's peace you won't try to back out on me." Phelan then left Clark to his work. Clark balled up his fists then pulled out some gloves so he wouldn't leave any finger prints; now how to get inside. The front door wasn't an option. Clark looked above him and saw an air vent. He rolled his eyes and then found himself crawling through the vent. He kicked out the covering and jumped inside the apartment. He did a quick X-ray and saw that the safe was predictably located behind a painting. He ripped the painting off the wall and was about to open the safe when an idea sparked in his head.

"What's taking that kid so long?" Phelan wondered. Suddenly the alarm started blasting and then the safe crashed on top of his car. "What the Hell! ?" He shouted. He looked up and saw Clark looking down at him with a satisfied smirk on his face. He super sped away just as the sounds of police sirens started to blare.

* * *

**The following day**

Clark was the last person left in the locker room following the completion of gym class. He was somewhat more reserved during class and tried to make it seem like he was exhausted after the whole Phelan fiasco. The last thing he needed was unneeded attention and someone else blackmailing him. He finished changing back into his regular clothes and was about to leave school when he bumped into Tess.

"Hello Clark," she greeted in a seductive voice.

"Tess," Clark swallowed.

"Like what you see?" She asked referencing the tight jeans she was wearing and her blue tank top. "I know blue is your favorite color," she whispered getting closer. Clark backed up into a wall and Tess closed the space between them.

"Tess wait," he tried to stop her, but she put a finger over his lips to silence him.

"You can't deny that there's an attraction between us, Clark," Tess said to him while grabbing his hands and putting them around her waist. She leaned closer to his lips stopping only an inch from them. "I know you want this Clark," she said feeling Clark's heart pounding against her chest. She ran her tongue across Clark's lips and he wound up squeezing the ides of her waist. Clark almost gave in, but came back to his senses and pushed Tess away from him.

"This isn't right Tess. There's something wrong with you," he said realizing that whatever was wrong with Lana and Whitney was also wrong with Tess.

"Something wrong with me. Some wrong with me!" She yelled. I beg to differ Clark; I've never been better in my life. For once I'm not holding in any of my feelings; something you could benefit from. Because let me tell you, one day you're finally going to let out all of those pent up feelings inside and when you finally do it won't be pretty. It'll be like a volcano. Think about that why don't you," she said and left the locker room. Clark was about to go after her when Phelan stepped in his path.

"Surprised to see me Clark?" Phelan asked.

"How are you free?" Clark asked in an angry tone. He was in no mode to deal with Phelan right now. "I'm good at talking myself out of situations and I have friends in high places."

"Whatever you want from me to do now Phelan you can forget it. Now get out of my way," he ordered him.

"Oh this isn't about blackmail anymore, Kent. This time its revenge; pure and simple."

"What have you done?" Phelan didn't answer; he only smirked. "What have you done!" Clark yelled nearly grabbing him by his neck.

"You're going to find out what happens to someone that double-crosses me," Phelan threatened before leaving Clark to his thoughts.

* * *

Tess exited the school feeling a deep burning rage. What was Clark's problem? As she began to reach for her phone to call Lex to give her a ride home she felt someone grab her from behind and felt something get pressed into her neck. Tess' body went limp and she was dragged into the back of a police car.

* * *

Margaret was in a very pissed off mood as she parked her police car outside of the station. She had Phelan right where she wanted him. Locked up with the key thrown away and yet the next day he gets let off on the most ridiculous technicality she's ever heard of; possibility of the evidence being faked. Come on! This made her wonder if there were any other dirty cops in the force. Someone tapped on the windshield of her car to get her attention. It was Michael.

"What do you want?" She questioned him.

"I just want to talk," Michael simply answered.

"Well it'll have to wait till later. I have more important things to deal with right now." She turned her back to him, but then felt a stinging sensation in her back that she recognized to be from a stun gun. She fell back into Michael's grip and he placed her in her car. He pulled out his phone and sent a text message.

**Got her, Phelan. Let me know when it's time.**

**A/N: There was a reason for me infecting Whitney last chapter, but I can't say why just yet. I'm sorry if I'm not including enough of Lex in the story. **


	9. Speeding Bullet

Maggie let out a long groan. She felt that her hands were tied behind her. Plus, her back was stinging like Hell. She took in her surroundings and noticed that she was in some sort of warehouse.

"Nice of you to wake up, Lieutenant Sawyer."

"Birtigo. I don't know what the game is here…" she started but stopped when she locked eyes with him. He looked different. Completely different. He actually appeared intimidating.

"This isn't a game Maggie. This is what I'd like to call payback."

"Payback?" She repeated.

"For all the times you've looked down on me or taken credit for an arrest I was about to make!" He shouted at her.

"Those criminals you caught were in Metropolis. That kind of means… I don't know… they're out of your jurisdiction!" She shouted back. "I'm only doing my job."

"Well it doesn't matter because right now your job is the last thing you should be worrying about," Michael threatened pointing to his gun.

"You're gonna kill me," Maggie guessed.

"Yes, but not yet. I have to wait till Phelan gives the order."

"I knew Phelan was the dirty cop," she thought. But she wouldn't be able to prove it if she couldn't get passed Birtigo. And from the looks of it he won't hesitate to shoot her if she tries to escape. Fortunately she came prepared for just such a situation.

* * *

Tess felt groggy as her world came back into focus. She appeared to be in someone's apartment. She noticed a gaping hole in the window and wondered just where she was.

"Hey boys. She's awake," she heard someone say. Five men walked in front of Tess and it was then that she realized that she was tied to a chair. She tried to break out, but she felt too weak. They must've drugged her.

"Who are you people?" She asked and then noticed their police badges. "You're cops?"

"Metropolis' Finest; or worst," one of the cops said.

"Why did you kidnap me?" Tess asked still struggling with the rope.

"Just following a friend's orders," he replied to her holding up a gun with a silencer. "Your friend got on one of our colleague's bad sides and now we're going to make him pay the price."

"Who are you talking about?" Tess asked. Her kidnapper held up a picture of her and Clark from two nights ago. Tess felt scared. These men were going to kill her and then Clark too.

* * *

Clark had never felt so helpless in his life. After Phelan left him alone, he went to find Tess, but could find her. He called Lex, who tried calling Tess, but he kept getting her voice mail. Clark was now starting to worry about Phelan's threat. If he laid as much as a finger on Tess… Clark threw a punch at one of the lockers almost forgetting to hold back his strength. Today just couldn't get any worse for him. His cell phone started to buzz and he pulled it out of his pocket. Even though the number was unknown he knew who was calling him.

"Where is she?"

"Come to the alleyway outside of the Metropolis bank," Phelan told him. Clark hung up and sped off to Metropolis.

* * *

Michael started pacing around the warehouse waiting for Phelan to call him. As he did this Maggie had pulled a knife out of her back pocket and was slowly cutting away at the ropes that bound her hands. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something familiar about Michael to her. This Mr. Hyde personality he's suddenly adapted reminded her of someone she thought she knew, but she couldn't remember from where. "Hey Michael," she called out. He looked at her and started walking towards her.

"What?" He asked.

"There's something familiar about you… or at least this personality of yours. Have we ever met before?" She asked to keep him distracted while she was getting closer to freeing herself.

"Maybe," Michael answered. "But like I said earlier you've got more important things to worry about."

"Yeah; I know," and Maggie finished cutting herself free. She kicked the gun out of the surprised Michael's hands and threw a punch for his neck. Michael blocked it and hit her in the collar bone followed by a kick to the back of her leg. Maggie sank to her knees allowing him to deliver an uppercut forcing her to the floor.

* * *

Clark sped into the alley and saw Phelan waiting for him. Clark sped at Phelan and held him up against the wall. "I swear if you've hurt her," he began to threaten.

"You'll do what, Kent?" Phelan asked not seeming scared. "You could've avoided this whole mess you know if you had just minded your own business. No one asked you to stop that robbery Kent. Do you have some sort of hero complex?"

"I just wanted to do the right thing," Clark said.

"The right thing," Phelan laughed. "Do you really think that stopping a simple robbery will change anything in this city? Newsflash Kent; there have never been any heroes in Metropolis and we don't need to start now."

* * *

Michael halted Maggie's next blow and twisted her wrist. He slammed his other fist onto it and Maggie cried out. Michael kicked her in the mouth forcing her into the wall. She threw out a roundhouse kick, but he dodged it, grabbed her head, and slammed it into his knee.

* * *

"I'll ask you again. Where's Tess?"

"Oh don't worry Kent. I'll tell you, but there's a catch."

"Catch? What catch?"

"One of my partners has also kidnapped Lieutenant Maggie Sawyer. Right now she and your little girlfriend are both being held at gun point. You may be fast, but I sincerely doubt you can outrun two speeding bullets."

"You're making me choose which one to save? Did you get this entire idea from a comic book?" Clark insulted making Phelan laugh.

"Insult me all you wish, but that won't change anything. You want to be a hero Kent. Then let's see you deal with a hero's greatest weakness. The inability to be there for everyone at once," he said pulling out his phone. "Sawyer's held up in the Luthor Corp. warehouse on the outskirts of town. Your girl is being held up in my apartment. It's the building near the Luthor Corp. building; third floor, first door on the right," he revealed sending a text message to both Birtigo and the other cops. "I'd hurry if I were you." Clark let out a yell and threw Phelan into a dumpster.

* * *

"It's show time boys," the cop said aiming his gun at Tess. Her eyes narrowed at him and her fists balled up.

* * *

Michael punched Maggie two more times in her face and delivered a final kick to her chest knocking her to the floor. Maggie never would've guessed that Michael could fight like that. She started crawling away as she watched Michael collect his gun. "You've had this coming for a long time Maggie," he said aiming his gun and then fired.

* * *

Clark felt the world slow down to a complete stop. He was going to save them both if it killed him. Clark sped out of the alley at a speed he never reached before. He ran down the streets and the resulting back draft blew people's newspapers away and made others drop whatever they were carrying. Clark burst into the warehouse and ran towards Maggie deflecting the bullet that was just a few inches from her face. He ran at Michael and hit him in the stomach before racing out of the warehouse to Phelan's apartment. He was pushing himself more than he ever had in his life. He zoomed into the apartment complex raced up the stairs and smashed through the door. Only problem; he didn't see Tess anywhere. He did an X-Ray, but there were no signs of life in the apartment. The realization hit Clark like a kryptonite dagger to the heart. Phelan lied to him about where Tess was. Clark fell out of super speed mode. He sank his knees and would've started to cry if he hadn't heard the sound of people coming to see what broke down the door. He sped from the scene before anyone could see him.

* * *

Maggie opened her eyes. She heard the shot get fired, but didn't feel the bullet pierce her skin. She looked behind her and saw Birtigo lying on the floor out cold. A few feet from her lay the bullet he shot at her. It was bent like it had ricocheted off something. But what?

* * *

Back in Jack Hunt's apartment a grisly sight would befall anyone who dared to walk in it. Each of the dirty cops was lying in a pool of blood. One of them had a slashed throat. One had multiple shattered bones. One had a gaping hole through his chest where his heart should be and the other two had their necks broken. Tess wiped all of her prints and stepped out of the apartment. Didn't seem like anybody heard what had happened inside.

"Good for me," Tess thought, but as she started to walk she felt strangely dizzy. The world started to spin wildly for her. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Clark's number.

* * *

Clark stood on top of the Daily Planet roof top just staring out at the sun. He really had no idea why he chose to come here of all places. It was just the first thing that popped into his head. He just couldn't grasp the fact that he had lost Tess. He had all these powers and he couldn't save her. His phone buzzed and Clark checked the I.D. His eyes widened at the number. It was Tess!

"Tess! Are you alright! ?" He asked praying she was ok.

"Clark," Tess said weakly. "Help me."

"Tess! Where are you! ?"

"Some sort of apartment complex. There's a gaping hole where one of the windows should be," she whispered and then felt her world fall back. She was about to hit the floor when she felt herself land in something warm. She felt like, for the faintest traces of a second, she could see Clark looking at her with pure relief before everything went black.

* * *

Clark raced Tess over to the hospital back in Smallville. Luckily for him Dr. Hamilton had figured out how to cure the Nicodemus infection. The cure was administered to Lana, Whitney, Tess, and later Deputy Birtigo who Clark figured was under its influence as well. They wouldn't wake up till tomorrow morning according to the doctor. All they could do now was wait and hope for the best.

"This is definitely going on the wall of weird," Chloe said as she and Clark walked outside of the Hospital. "Are you ok Clark?" She asked noticing that he looked distant.

"Yeah. I've just had a long, hard day. So, anymore notes from your admirer?"

"Yep," she said handing Clark the note.

**Sorry about the toxic flower, Chloe. Hope no one was hurt.**

**Your admirer**

**P.S. As for my identity; you're the genius. You figure it out.**

Clark chuckled slightly. "I guess no one told the guy to never present you with a challenge." Chloe laughed a little at Clark's statement though truth be told, she had no idea where to even start.

* * *

**Later that night**

Lex had all the Nicodemus flowers destroyed any further research on them halted. He now wanted full focus to be devoted to the octagonal disk. Suddenly the doors to his study swung open.

"Doesn't anyone knock anymore?" Lex thought getting tired of being interrupted. Phelan walked over to Lex's desk. "What did you do this time?" Lex asked him.

Phelan was very nervous at the moment. His plan had backfired horrendously. He had expected Kent to try to save the girl first and by the time he realized he'd been tricked it would be too late to save Maggie. But he went and saved the cop first. Not only that, but someone brutally killed his men and now that Maggie was alive she was bound to put two and two together and would not rest until she had him back in jail.

"I need your help Lex. There's this cop that I need off my back."

"I don't see why I should help you again," Lex said to the nervous cop. "Especially after you kidnapped Tess."

"Have you forgotten our deal! ?" Phelan shouted slamming his fists on the table.

"No I haven't, but honestly who's going to believe you or care for that matter about an incident three years ago? Unless you have something useful to me you're on your own."

Phelan smiled. "As a matter of fact I do. It's about your best friend."

"Clark?" Lex asked intrigued.

"He's hiding something from you. Help me out and what I know is yours," Phelan offered. Lex was about to accept when the door to his study were once again knocked open.

"Freeze dirt bag," Maggie seethed at Phelan. Phelan pulled out his gun at the same time she did. "It's over Phelan. I'm placing you under arrest."

"You can't prove I was involved in anything," Phelan said calmly though Maggie could tell he was nervous.

"Your partners recorded you telling them the plan, Sam, to use as blackmail if the need ever arose. Looks like you put your trust in the wrong people." Phelan started to sweat as he slowly moved away from Lex's desk towards the door on the right side of the study.

"Last I checked this isn't Metropolis, Maggie. You're a little out of your jurisdiction don't you think?"

"I know. That's why I brought a friend," she said. Another man stepped into the study; gun raised. "Meet deputy Gary Watts; Michael's partner." Maggie introduced.

"Screw this," Phelan thought and open fired. Maggie and Watts ducked his gun shots and fired back. Phelan dodged their shots, but only barely. He fired and hit the top of Maggie's shoulder. She fell dropped her gun and Phelan raced out the door. Watts gave chase, but Phelan shot him in the side of his chest. He fell to the floor and Phelan continued his escape. He entered another hallway and received a punch to his face. Maggie's look was venomous. She grabbed Phelan's head and slammed it into the wall. She raised her gun, but he knocked it away from her. He grabbed a chair and smashed it over her head making Maggie fall to the ground. Phelan pulled out his own gun, but Watts appeared from behind him and tackled him to the floor. Phelan dragged both of them up and slammed his head into Watts'. Watts collapsed and Phelan aimed his gun at his heart. A shot rang out and Phelan saw a hole in his chest. He slowly turned around and saw Maggie holding a smoking gun. She fired again and Phelan fell back crashing through the window. Maggie picked herself up and assisted Deputy Watts' to his feet. They looked out the window and saw the last dirty cop lying clearly dead in the grass below.

* * *

**Smallville Hospital**

Whitney's eyes started to stir and he woke up to find himself in the hospital.

"How did I get here?" He thought then he felt a splitting head ache. A group of images started to flash through his mind head.

* * *

_What's going on between you and Lana?_

_Clark threw a punch, but Whitney stopped it._

"_Looks like I'm not the only one with a few secrets."_

* * *

The images stopped and Whitney grabbed his head in pain. "What was that?"

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: Yeah I know Clark having to choose who to rescue has been done before (quiet recently as a matter of fact), but the chapter kept replaying in my head like this so I went with it.**

**Anyway it looks like the Nicodemus flowers unlocked a lot more in Whitney's mind and it doesn't seem like he was fully cured. Plus something seems to be off with Deputy Birtigo. Tess seems to also possess a few secrets. And who could be Chloe's secret admirer? Whoever you may think it is, well think again. Next chapter will take place during 'Leech'. See ya! Hope this chapter was good.**


	10. Normal

**A/N: Leech will last about two chapters. Three at the most. After that we finally reach Obscura and Tempest, which are the most important parts of the story. **

Maggie Sawyer entered her empty apartment and let out a long yawn. After the night she had all she wanted was to plop down in her bed and stay there. As she was about to enter her bedroom there was a gust of wind that nearly blew her off her feet.

"What the?" Maggie thought wondering where that gust of wind could've come from. She looked down at her feet and saw a note next to them. She picked it up and read it.

**You're welcome for the save earlier today.**

**Signed,**

**A friend**

"A friend huh?" Maggie thought then tossed the note aside. She was too tired right now to wonder about the existence of some sort of super human.

* * *

**Several weeks later**

It was a normal outing for the class of Smallville High. They had gone on a 'field trip' of sorts to the woods. Their teacher Mr. Summers sent them all on a rock hunt. The class was less than enthusiastic until he offered to award bonus credit to anyone that could find a meteor rock. After that the class was very much obedient. They nearly ran over each other exiting the bus. Chloe for one had had enough experience with these meteor rocks to last her a life time. Just recently the newest meteor freaks to be added to the wall have been Jeff Palmer, who could make himself invisible, and Bob Rickman and Kyle Tippet, who could make anyone do what they wanted with a single hand shake. The strangest thing about the infected that didn't die was that they seemingly disappeared after being sent to Belle Reeve; vanished without a trace. Chloe would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't curious as to what became of them, but she got the feeling that if she investigated this she'd be getting a lot more than she bargained for.

For now she needed to stay focused on the task at hand; passing her class. She and Jimmy paired up with one another to track down the rocks they needed and all they needed were two more.

"Make that one," Chloe thought finding another.

"How many does that leave?"

"You should know Jimmy. We're working together on this."

"Jimmy. I'm not Jimmy."

"Very funny…" Chloe turned around and saw she wasn't looking at Jimmy…sort of… he looked exactly like him. "Eric. Sorry I thought you were Jimmy for a second."

"Why would you think that?" He asked.

"Is he serious?" Chloe wondered.

"Hey Chloe!" Jimmy called out to her and ran over to her side. "How's the hunt going?"

"Just fine," she said looking from Jimmy to Eric.

"What?" They both asked simultaneously.

"Are you two blind? You look exactly alike," Chloe stated as if it were obvious.

"Really?" They asked at the same time and then looked each other over.

"I don't see it," Jimmy said.

"Me neither," Eric agreed and walked off. Chloe watched Eric walk away. He always seemed so distant from everyone else. Probably because some of the football players saw him as their own personal punching bag.

On another side of the forest Lana was working together with Pete, Clark, and Tess. They had just one more rock to find; of course it would be kryptonite. Pete suggested that they could just turn in Lana's necklace as a joke and wound up getting hit over the head as a result. They decided to split up as the storm clouds rolled in. Clark was with Pete and Lana was with Tess.

"Hey Tess," Lana said to her.

"Yes Lana?" Tess replied.

"I was just wondering. What do you think of Clark?"

"What do I think of Clark?" Tess repeated. "Well I think he's a pretty nice. Probably the nicest out of anyone in the school," she replied while not making any real eye contact with Lana. She had a feeling that Lana might like Clark. Only problem was that she liked him as well. Neither she nor Clark had actually talked about what happened during the Nicodemus incident. Tess remembered their two heated moments very vividly and even had a few dreams about them finishing what they started some nights. She felt something towards him, but wondered if he was just caught up in the moment of things. She wanted to ask him about it, but was too nervous to do so. "Why do you ask?" Tess asked her.

"No reason," was Lana' response. She went to check around a couple of trees. As she checked behind one she thought she saw something green buried underneath some leaves. She moved them and saw a meteor rock. She turned her head and shouted, "Hey Tess! I found one!" Her attention diverted Lana didn't notice the rock glow as her hand got closer to it. Once again like the time before the glow died out when she turned back to the rock. "That's weird. The rock appeared to be a lighter shade of green a few seconds ago," Lana thought. A sudden flash of lightning and clap of thunder made Lana jump a little.

"Maybe we should be getting back to the bus," Tess suggested.

"You can say that again," Lana said grabbing the rock. The two of them met up with Clark and Pete at the bus where everyone, but Eric, was in.

"He can't be far. I'll go find him," Clark volunteered.

"Are you sure Clark? What about the storm?" Tess asked concerned.

"I'll be fine," he said and rushed off to find Eric. Once he was out of sight Clark went super speed.

* * *

Eric Summers stood on the edge of the dam holding onto one of the meteor rocks he came across. He contemplated whether or not he should jump. It's not like anyone would miss him. He made up his mind and was about to go over the edge when Clark sped onto the scene.

"Eric! Don't!" He called out to his classmate. Eric was surprised that someone had bothered to come find him and nearly stepped away from the edge when lightning struck just next to the spot he was standing on. Eric slipped and Clark dove to catch him. Just then lightning struck Clark. The rock Eric was holding onto started to glow brightly as Clark pulled Eric over the edge of the dam. He saw part of Eric's jacket looked like it was on fire, but when he tried to put it out Clark retracted his hand.

"OW!" Clark gasped. "Ow?" He repeated realizing that hurt. It actually hurt.

* * *

Clark thought that maybe his powers were just glitching; that they would be back to normal the following day. But he was very wrong. He found himself incapable of moving his dad's stuck truck. He even got a bloody nose from trying to move it. Now Clark was running the bleachers for gym class. He was tired, sweaty, and his bones were aching more than the time he went head to head with super powered Whitney. Now he was hobbling over into the locker room; cramping up for the first time. He spotted Eric and decided to talk to him.

"Hey Eric."

"Hey Clark. I never got a chance to thank you for yesterday. If you hadn't shown up I would've made an incredibly stupid decision," he said.

"No problem. Are you feeling alright since then?" Clark asked.

"Yeah. Never better; in fact I feel like a new man," Eric said with a smile. "Clark; your nose is bleeding," he said noticing the blood flowing from it. Clark put a hand up to his nose to stop the blood and stumbled out of the locker room to go to the nurse's office. Eric looked back at the machine he was on and set the weight on it to maximum. He lifted it easily without even exerting himself. He smiled for what felt like the first time in years.

* * *

Clark exited the locker once again bumping into Tess.

"You seem to have a habit of running into me, Clark," she said to him, but then saw his nose. "Your nose is bleeding. Are you alright?" She asked in concern.

"Yeah. Just working a little too hard," he said to her.

"I can see that. You look like a machine that's been running on a nearly everlasting power supply and has suddenly been switched to an emergency backup system," she said.

"You have no idea," Clark thought. He then felt really dizzy and almost fell down. Lucky for him Tess caught him.

"Easy there Clark. I have you," Tess said holding him up. Clark was surprised that she was able to keep him steady.

"Pretty strong there," he said.

"Guess I don't know my own strength," Tess half joked. She flashed back to that day a few weeks ago. She somehow massacred all of those men without breaking a sweat. Where did she get that power from? As Tess helped him to the nurse's office Clark wondered if he should talk to her about the Nicodemus incident. She hadn't mentioned it since she recovered at the hospital, which made Clark wonder if she remembered those particular details of the event at all.

* * *

**Later that day**

Today could be described as one of the best days of Eric Summers' life. For the first time ever he outshined the football players in gym class, which actually got him some admiration from the girl he's been crushing on since the beginning of the year. Now he was standing outside of building drinking a soda and minding his own business when he heard someone scream. He saw a man rush by him followed by Chloe and Pete. Wanting to help Eric started to run and then found himself standing in front of the guy cutting him off; looks like he's more than just strong. The guy pulled out a knife and tried to stab Eric, but he lifter up his hand shattering the weapon. As the dumbfounded criminal looked at what remained of his knife Eric took Chloe's bag away from him and tossed him into the side of a truck knocking the guy out.

"Here you go Chloe," he said handing her back her computer bag. Chloe just looked purely shocked. Eric's speed, strength, and invulnerability; was she wrong about Clark? Had Eric been the meteor freak this entire time?

* * *

**Luthor Corp.**

"Any reason why you wanted me to come down here with you, boss?" Rudy asked Lex as they exited the elevator in one of the lower levels of the Luthor Corp. building.

"You're the one that gave us the disk Rudy. I think it's only fitting that you get to see what we've found out about it so far," Lex explained to him. They walked into a lab with at least a dozen scientists in it. They stepped towards a window and the other side of it was the disk being held up in the air over a container of chemicals. "We've exposed this thing to virtually every substance known to man and it's had no affect on the disk at all," Lex explained. "Observe." One of the scientists pressed a button on the control pad and the disk was lowered into chemicals labeled 'dangerous and harmful.' The disk was kept in there for twenty seconds and was then lifted out of the chemicals; it was completely unharmed. "You may have stumbled onto the greatest find ever Rudy," Lex said to him when suddenly the alarm started blasting.

"What's wrong! ?" Rudy asked nervously.

"The temperatures for the chemicals are starting to rise uncontrollably. They're going to blow!" One of the scientists yelled already running away from the glass. Rudy tried to run, but one of the other scientists knocked him down. He turned over just as the chemicals exploded and broke through the glass; covering him from head to toe.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: I could resist doing the Jimmy and Eric thing. For those of you who don't know/ don't remember, the actors that play Jimmy and Eric are twin brothers.**


	11. The Right Thing

**Superboy saves the day**

That's what the article for the torch read. "I guess we know what happened to your powers Clark," Martha said putting down the paper. Clark couldn't believe it. His powers weren't just gone; they had been transferred into an entirely different body.

"You said Eric was holding a meteor rock when the lighting struck," Jonathan said to Clark.

"Yeah; that must've been what caused the transfer," Clark said placing the paper back down on the table.

"You know what they say Clark. Lighting doesn't strike twice in the same place. I don't think your powers are ever coming back," Jonathan said.

"I thought that knowledge would make me sad, but I actually feel strangely relieved. I don't have to hide who I am anymore. Better yet I don't have to worry about Chloe discovering my powers," Clark said then checked the clock. I gotta head to school now. See ya," and Clark ran out the door to catch his bus. As he sprinted to catch it he wound up tripping. He got up, dusted off, and ran after the bus as it started pulling away. His parents watched him from the window.

"You're kind of relieved aren't you?" Martha asked Jonathan.

"He always did say that he wanted to be normal," Jonathan said. "Not having to worry about him being exposed is an added bonus though," he added with a small chuckle.

* * *

While Clark was enjoying the pleasures of a normal life, Eric was experiencing the pains of being superhuman. His own parents were afraid of him and his dad actually wanted to have some tests run on him. Eric snapped and pinned his father up against the wall. He threatened him and declared that he no longer had to take orders from him or anyone else. He could have anything or anyone he wants and there's nothing no one can do to stop him. With that he super sped out of the house.

* * *

Gym class was once again a bitch for Clark. He struggled through pushups, took longer than usual to climb up the rope, and was ready to die following the bleacher run. Despite all of that Clark actually felt good; not in a physical sense of course, but in a mental sense. He actually liked feeling the pain of a hard day's work. As he continued to pant from the end of class he felt a bottle of water crash into his face.

"Sorry Clark," Chloe apologized. "I thought you'd catch that," she said.

"No problem Chloe," he said picking up the bottle and started to drain it.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Chloe asked him.

"Depends; who's it about?" Clark asked her.

"You," she answered.

Clark hesitated for a moment then said, "What is it?"

"Well you know how Eric admitted to being the meteor freak that we've been tracking since the homecoming dance?"

"Yeah… why do you ask?"

"Well this is going to sound silly, but I thought the freak was you for a while now," she confessed.

Clark laughed. "Me? That's hilarious Chloe," Clark laughed.

"Yeah I know," she agreed with him. "I just thought with all the quick exits and how you never seemed to get tired or whatever I thought you might have been it. But after seeing Eric in action plus how you've been running on emergency fumes these past couple of days I think we can safely rule you out as a suspect." Clark held on to his breath of relief and just smiled at Chloe. "Just to let you know Clark even if you had been the meteor freak that wouldn't make me look at you any differently. You'd still be the same guy I've know the past two years," Chloe said, which made Clark smile.

"What are you guys talking about?" Tess said entering the gym with a basketball in hand with Pete and Jimmy following close behind.

"Just about the school's new superhero," Chloe answered.

"Just because he has powers doesn't make him a superhero," Clark muttered.

"You're just jealous Clark. I'm pretty sure most of the guys here would kill to have the powers Eric has," Pete said.

"Doubting that," Clark thought.

"We were' just about to shoot the ball around Clark. Like to join us in a game?" Tess asked.

"Sure," Clark agreed standing up.

"Cool. You're on my team then"

"Hold on for a second," Pete said.

"What's the matter Pete?" Tess asked tossing him the ball and then stealing it back. "Afraid of losing to a girl?"

Pete narrowed his eyes. "Give me that ball," he said.

"You're gonna have to take it from me," Tess said already dribbling past him only to have the ball stolen out of her hands by Jimmy. The game began and the four friends played fiercely with Chloe acting as a cheerleader for both sides. Even though Clark and Tess started off losing the game, Clark was having the time of his life. For once he could just let go and enjoy life without having to worry about injuring somebody. Team 'TC' as Chloe called them soon retook the lead from team 'PJ'.

"That's a terrible pun, Chloe!" Jimmy shouted out at her. Chloe just shrugged as the game continued. A half hour later they were all lying on the floor sweaty and out of breath. Clark and Tess had won the game by a single basket. Chloe helped the two losers to their feet as they were to 'weak and exhausted' to get up on their own.

"So; when do you think Jimmy will admit to being Chloe's admirer?" Tess asked lying next to Clark.

"Jimmy? Chloe's admirer; yeah right. What makes you think that?" Clark asked turning his head to her.

"It's obvious he has a thing for her," Tess answered.

"Even if he does that doesn't mean he's the one who's admiring her from afar," Clark said staggering to his feet. He held his hand down to Tess and she gripped it. Clark helped her up, but pulled a little too hard because Tess bumped into his chest and they both fell back down to the floor with Tess on top of Clark.

"Sorry Clark," she said.

"Don't be," Clark responded looking up at her. They started to lean down towards each other, but then they heard the door swing open making Tess roll off of Clark.

"Kent," Whitney said walking past the two of them and into the locker room. Ever since he got out of the hospital he's been having these weird flashes. Flashes of something he knows he should remember, but for some reason can't. If there was one thing that he did know it was that Clark was somehow connected to them and he was going to figure out how one way or another.

* * *

**Lunch Time**

Eric was looking like a different person altogether. He was no longer wearing his glasses and he was walking around with a boom box.

"What parallel dimension did he come from?" Chloe asked as she, Lana, Tess, Clark, Jimmy, and Pete were all eating lunch. They saw Eric sit down at the table his crush was sitting at and heard him ask her out. Her boyfriend got in Eric's face and he proceeded to punch out the side mirror of a truck before chasing the scared jock throughout the parking lot eventually throwing him into a table. Clark sprung up and ran in Eric's way.

"Stay out of my way Clark!" He ordered.

"No Eric! You have to stop. You could kill someone. You don't want that on your conscience," Clark attempted to reason.

"You aren't my father Clark. No shut up and get out of my way!" Eric chucked Clark halfway across the parking lot and he landed on the windshield of a truck. Everyone stared at Eric with scared eyes; some even backing away from him.

"Get away from us you freak!" His crush shouted at him. Eric looked shocked at what he did and sped away into the distance. Tess ran to the truck and looked over Clark. He had a cut on his forehead, but that wasn't what made her sweat. She felt the part of his body where he landed. "His ribs are bruised! Someone call an ambulance!" She called out.

* * *

Clark cringed a little as the doctor finished wrapping up Clark's bruised ribs.

"How long am I gonna have to wear these?" Clark asked.

"You'll be fine in a couple of weeks," the doctor said.

"Weeks?" Clark said in disbelief just as his parents walked into his room. His mother put him into a hug and Clark had to push her back gently off his bruised ribs.

As Clark relayed the day's events to them, Tess knocked on the door and poked her head inside. "It's alright Tess. You can come in," Martha said to her. Tess walked inside and gently hugged Clark.

"Are you alright?" She asked as Martha and Jonathan stepped outside and closed the door to give the two some privacy.

"I've been better," he replied. "Has anyone heard from Eric?" He asked.

"The police were just at his house. He went ballistic and tore them apart as well as most of his home. No one has seen him since. Can you imagine having such power at your finger tips?" Tess asked talking about Eric and yet at the same time, herself. She still remembered the gruesome image of the cops she brutally killed.

"You have no idea," Clark thought then said, "It must've been scary for him. But still someone has to stop him before he seriously hurts somebody."

"You're talking about yourself aren't you?" She asked him. Clark didn't answer her. He just started to walk towards the door. "You can't go after him, Clark," Tess said grabbing Clark's arm to stop him. "You've seen his strength and other powers. If you try to fight him you'll die. Look what he's done to you already," She said lightly touching the bandages over Clark's ribs. Clark softly took Tess' hand and pulled her into a hug. They just stood there in each other's arms; slowly swaying.

"I think I know a way to stop him," Clark said to her.

"How would you know?" Tess asked still clinging onto Clark.

"I just have a feeling," he answered.

"But why does it have to be you? You don't have to act like everyone's hero," she said pulling away slightly and looking into Clark's eyes.

"It's not about acting like a hero. It's just about doing the right thing," he said rubbing Tess' right cheek. They heard a knock at the door making them jump apart.

"Clark. Are you ready?" His dad asked from outside.

"One more minute," Clark answered him.

Tess looked at Clark, leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Just promise you won't die," she requested.

"Promise," Clark said pulling her into another hug.

* * *

Clark went to see Eric's parents shortly after he got out of the hospital. He went to see Lana first and asked her if he could borrow her meteor rock necklace. She told him ok even though she wasn't sure why he needed it. Mr. Summers told Clark that Eric said he was going to where it began. Realizing that Eric meant the dam Clark raced there as quickly as he could; this was one of the moments where he missed having his super speed. He reached the dam just in time to see Eric jump off. Clark sighed and ran off down to the bottom of the dam. He really, really missed his super speed.

"Eric!" He called out. He heard a familiar sounding whoosh and spotted Eric.

"You should've let me go the first time, Kent," he said.

"Why'd you throw yourself off that dam?" Clark asked him holding a lead box with the necklace behind his back.

"I was testing myself to see if I have any limits. But apparently I don't," he answered stepping towards him.

"Look Eric you can adjust to these abilities; you just have to give yourself some time," Clark said.

"You'd know that wouldn't you Clark?" Eric asked him. "I'm not stupid Clark. I've seen how you never seem to tire no matter the workout during gym and the fact that you just happened to be there when the lighting struck. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together." Eric super sped at Clark and shoved him through the fence that housed several generators. Clark groaned out and saw that the necklace had fallen out of the box. "It all makes sense now," he said as Clark crawled away trying to find the necklace. "All of our classmates that wound up in Belle Reeve that were supposedly infected. You put them there didn't you?" He asked dragging Clark to his feet.

"They were killing people. I couldn't just stand around and let them do that," Clark said.

"And who asked you to do that?" Eric asked and shoved Clark into a generator almost breaking Clark's back. "So you get these powers and you decide to play hero, huh?" He asked. "Someone should've told you Kent," he said stepping on Clark's bruised rib. "There are no heroes in this world," he said slowly crushing it.

Clark felt like he was going to pass out from the pain any second. He saw the look of enjoyment on Eric's face at Clark's pain. As Clark started losing his consciousness he spotted the necklace and snatched it from the dirt. Eric immediately backed away from Clark and almost fell down. Clark pushed himself up and though in pain, punched Eric in the face as hard as he could. Eric fell to the ground and was surprised to see himself bleeding.

"What did you do to me Clark? What did you do! ?" He shouted and sprinted at Clark sending him crashing into the next generator. Clark felt everything spin and almost go dark. He saw Eric approaching him with a fury burning in his eyes. Just before he could reach Clark someone tackled Eric into the dirt. "Mercer?" Eric asked.

"Get away from him!" Tess shouted and threw a punch at Eric. He blocked it and threw her off of him. Tess sprung up and tried to kick Eric, but her caught her leg and chucked her into the fence knocking down the entire structure.

"Stay away from her!" Clark ordered Eric as he moved towards her.

"You should've minded you own business Kent!" He yelled and then ripped and electrical wire from one of the undamaged generators.

"I hope this works," Clark thought as Eric approached him. Clark threw out his arm just as Eric shoved the wire at Clark. Clark grabbed his arm electrocuting them both; the necklace glowing vibrantly. They both fell into the dirt. Clark felt all the injuries he received from the fight heal instantaneously as well as the radiation from the necklace. He quickly put it back into the lead box.

"What did you do to me, Clark?" Eric repeated lying on the ground in pain. He shut his eyes and was out cold.

"Clark! ?" He heard Tess call out to him. Clark pretended to still feel injured as she helped him to his feet. "I thought I saw you get electrocuted," she said.

"Eric got the worst of it," Clark said. "I'll live. How did you find me?"

"I was worried about you so I kind of followed you," she admitted.

"It was a good thing that you did. If you hadn't I might've died tonight," he said. Tess gave him a bright smile.

"Just trying to do the right thing?" She said repeating his words from earlier today.

"Well isn't this a pretty picture," Chloe said stepping into the scene.

"Chloe? What are you?"

"I gave Tess a ride here," she answered then looked at Eric and then Clark. "Eric had all those powers and yet Clark is still standing. Was he really infected or just really lucky? I honestly don't know what to think anymore," Chloe wondered. Perhaps this was one mystery that was best left alone.

Clark, Tess, and Chloe kept watch over Eric until the police and ambulance arrived. Afterwards Clark gave Tess a ride back to the mansion. "Thanks for the save," Clark thanked Tess once he pulled the truck to a stop.

"Anytime Clark," she smiled. Clark walked Tess to the front door, which was answered by Lex.

"Tess. I was wondering where you've been all day," He said to her.

"Just hanging out with a few friends; should've called I guess," she said.

"It's ok," he said. "Thanks for giving Tess a ride home," he said to Clark.

"You're welcome," Clark replied then looked to Tess. "See you tomorrow at school," he said and then walked back to his car.

"You and Clark seem to be getting along nicely," Lex said to Tess.

"He's the best friend I've ever had in a long time," Tess said watching him leave then turned to Lex. "By the way. I heard there was an explosion at the plant. Is everything alright?" She asked to change the subject. As much as she liked Lex she'd rather not discuss Clark with him. Lex seemed to have some sort of fixation on Clark. Like there was something he believed that Clark was keeping secret from him.

"Nothing too serious he said. There were a few injuries, but nothing too severe."

* * *

**Smallville Hospital**

Rudy Jones lay in his hospital bed in a coma. His body was horribly scarred. As a matter of fact some portions of his skin had changed color from white to a dark purple.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: Next time we finally reach 'Obscura', which along with Tempest are the most important parts of my story like I've been saying since the beginning. See ya soon!**


	12. Obscura

**Announcer: Previously on Smallville**

_**Clark tries to punch Whitney, but he blocks his punch**_

**Whitney: Looks like I'm not the only one with a few secrets. **

_**Clark rips part of Whitney's shirt revealing the octagonal disk. They collide at full speed and the disk falls of his shirt. **_

**Rudy: What have we here?**

_**Rudy takes the disk and walks off**_

_**Clark sees someone picking up her books and helps her.**_

**Clark: I'm Clark Kent**

**Tess: Pleased to meet you. I'm Tess Mercer.**

_**Clark sneaks into a Luthor Corp plant office and knocks over a file labeled 'Project Mercer'.**_

_**Lex: We've exposed this disk to virtually every substance known to man and there isn't even a scratch on it.**_

_**Scientist: Something's wrong!**_

_**The chemicals explode and splash over Rudy's body.**_

_**Announcer: And now a new episode of Smallville**_

"How much longer is this going to take, Chloe?" Jimmy asked. It was well after school hours in the Torch. Chloe had talked Jimmy into helping her out with her latest project. The investigation of the mysterious string of disappearances or deaths of several of their meteor freak classmates. Some of them had vanished from the Belle Reeve institution and haven't been heard from since.

Others that we being held at the hospital never made it to Belle Reeve. Chloe knew that she was probably getting herself into more trouble than she wanted, but her journalistic instincts refused to let this go. She had requested Jimmy's aid in this little endeavor. He was strictly against hacking into the security footage at the hospital at first, but Chloe pestered him until he caved.

"We'll be finished soon. Just a few more minutes," Chloe said scanning through the footage. "Well what do we have here?" She said.

"What is it?" Jimmy asked.

"Something I've noticed," Chloe said then started to play the footage again. "There," she said. She froze the image of a man walking into the hospital room of Tina Greer. She zoomed in on the man's uniform. On it was the Luthor Corp. symbol. "This guy has appeared in each part of the footage," she said.

"So he's from Luthor Corp. and that automatically makes him suspicious?" Jimmy asked her. Chloe raised an eyebrow at Jimmy. "Ok yes that does make him suspicious, but we can't prove that he's the guy behind all the disappearances. All we've seen is footage of him walking into each of the freaks hospital rooms and then walking out. We don't even have a clear image of the guy's face."

"Not yet, but it's a start at least. That's enough for tonight though," Chloe said saving the footage and then shutting down her computer.

"So any close to discovering the identity of your little admirer?" Jimmy asked changing the subject.

"No. I'm starting to wonder if this is someone's idea of a joke," Chloe sighed.

"Don't think that way, Chloe. What guy in this school wouldn't want to date you?"

"I can tell you one," she said.

"Let me guess; C.K.?" Jimmy guessed.

"Pretty much. He's only had eyes for Lana for a while now, but now he seems to be gravitating towards Tess."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Clark doesn't know what he's missing," Jimmy said in hopes that he would cheer her up.

"Thanks Jimmy," she said with a wide smile.

* * *

**The Mansion**

The doors to Lex's study once again swung open. Lex didn't even bother to look up from his desk as he already knew who it was. "It's customary to knock before entering one's room," he said looking at his computer screen.

"Apologies Mr. Luthor," the man said to him. "Why did you have me called down here? Have I been compromised?"

"Not yet. There's a group of high school students that have been looking into your recent handy work. If they discover anything about you it could be traced back to me."

"What do you want me to do with them?" He asked.

"I want you to intimidate them into backing off the story, by any non-lethal means necessary. It can never be discovered what we're doing with those freaks," Lex said.

"Rest assured Mr. Luthor. Your precious secrets are safe with me."

* * *

**The next morning**

Lana Lang always found riding on her horse to help her either calm down or to clear her head a bit; sometimes both, which is what she was aiming for with this ride. Ever since her break up with Whitney she's found herself spending more time with Clark, Chloe, and the rest of the gang. But the more time she spent with them the more jealous she felt every time she saw Clark look at Tess. Tess.

Lana wanted to be friends with Tess, but almost every time they were near one another, Lana kept remembering how Tess nearly broke her arm without even really trying.

There was something different about Tess. Something she was hiding from the others. When Lana actually stopped and thought about it she realized that no one in that circle of friends really knew much about Tess. She continued to ride her horse when she saw a construction group working near a gas main. She recognized deputies Michael Birtigo and Gary Watts standing near them as well. She brought her horse to a stop just a few feet from them.

"Sorry Ms. Lang. You're going to have to ride your horse someplace else for the moment," Birtigo said to her.

"Sure. No problem," Lana said and was about to start riding off when she saw something odd about the gas main. It was violently shaking; almost as if it was about to...

"Oh no," Lana said then jumped off her horse and ran to the construction team. After getting their attention and getting them to look at the shaking gas main they all started to make a run for it.

"Lana! Run!" Birtigo shouted to her already putting some distance between him and the main. Lana ran, but wasn't fast enough. It exploded lifting her off her feet and sent her crashing into the grass. Several meteor rocks fell over her body. Some of the rocks that were closest to her began to glow until they were no longer green.

"Lana! Are you ok?" Deputy Watts asked her turning her over on her side. Lana's eyes were half open for a few seconds and then shut themselves.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: The man Lex talked to was the same guy he talked to during the end of my version of Jitters. Any guesses as to who he is? Sorry for how short this chapter was. See ya!**


	13. Obscura Part 2

Lana woke up and found herself dressed in hospital attire. She rubbed some of the sweat off her forehead and took a few moments to gather her thoughts. Of course; she was caught in that pipe explosion, but managed to live through it. However, she had an excruciating head ache now.

"Glad to see you're awake," she heard the voice of Clark Kent. She saw him standing in the doorway.

"Clark. How long have I been here?" She asked rubbing her temples a little.

"For most of the day; other than a concussion the doctors believe you'll be fine and can be released by tomorrow."

"I wouldn't say I'm fine exactly Clark. I have a monumental head ache right now," she said.

"Nothing a couple of aspirin shouldn't be able to cure," Chloe said entering the room followed by Jimmy, Pete and Tess. "It's funny. We've been in this hospital so much the past year we might as well have our own rooms on reserve," Chloe joked.

Lana laughed and then said, "I thought you were supposed to be in Metropolis for the Daily Planet interview."

"It's not for another few hours," Chloe said.

"Isn't Metropolis a three hour drive from here?" Tess asked.

"Actually I've never really been exactly certain how far away Metropolis is. Sometimes it feels like a hop, skip, and a jump away," Chloe said. "But anyway I couldn't leave without making sure that one of my friends was alright," Chloe said.

"Thanks, Chloe," Lana said smiling at her friend. "By the way. Have you had any luck tracking down that elusive admirer of yours?"

"No. I'm telling you if this is a joke being played by one of the football players, that guy will suffer my wrath and it's not going to be pretty," She said crossing her arms. Everyone looked at her like she was serious.

"Kidding. Kidding," Chloe said putting up her hands then decided to change the subject. "So, anyone got a date for the upcoming Spring Formal?" She asked them. They all shook their heads no. "Well here's a crazy idea. Since we're all dateless, why don't we all go together? Just as one big group of friends," she suggested. The group took a few seconds to think it through.

"Sure, why not?" Clark said.

"I'm up for it," Jimmy said.

"Me too," Pete agreed.

"Sounds like a good idea," Tess said sparing a quick glance at Clark.

"I'm in," Lana said.

"Awesome," Chloe said then looked at her watch. "Now if you'll excuse me I have an interview to attend to," she said already headed for the door. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Right behind you," Jimmy said.

"Why are you going with her?" Pete asked.

"Do you know what kind of a place Metropolis is at night? Dangerous that's what," Jimmy answered and then went after Chloe.

* * *

"You know I can handle myself," Chloe said to Jimmy as they stepped beside her car.

"I know, but still you can never be too careful," Jimmy said rubbing a hand against the back of his head.

"Oh Jimmy. What's the worst that could happen?" Chloe asked.

"You know whenever those words are uttered something bad usually happens," Jimmy warned.

"Like what?" Chloe asked him.

"Like this!" Chloe heard a garbled voice yell. A man sprang out from behind a truck and shot Chloe with a tazer.

"Chloe!" Jimmy shouted and started to run towards her when someone grabbed him from behind and put a cloth soaked in chloroform over his mouth. Jimmy arms went limp and the man hoisted Jimmy over his shoulder. The second man punched Chloe to ensure that she was out cold and then searched her for her keys. He then opened the trunk of her car and threw her in it; his partner doing the same with Jimmy.

* * *

"Lana?" Pete asked waving his hand in front of her face.

"Sorry. Spaced out. What were you saying?" She asked. Lana couldn't explain it, but for a few seconds she saw Chloe and Jimmy being attacked. It was like she was seeing it through someone else's eyes. It must've been because of the head ache she was feeling though.

"I was asking if you think Jimmy is Chloe's admirer?" He repeated.

"Not a chance," Lana answered.

"Too obvious," Tess replied.

"Chloe would've figured it out immediately," Clark responded.

"Something's wrong!" They heard someone shout from outside the room.

"What's going on?" Tess thought out loud.

"I don't know," Clark said getting up. He exited the room and saw a few members of the hospital staff run by. He followed them to the room they were racing to. He stood in the doorframe and saw Rudy Jones looking like he was having a fit! His body was spazing out of control. Not like Earl Jenkins, but still pretty bad.

"Hold him down and sedate him!" One of the doctors told the nurses. They tried to grab Rudy, but then his hands grabbed both of their arms making both women scream; both their bodies started to glow. Rudy shoved them back and sprang out of his bed.

"A mirror," he thought. He needed a mirror. He walked past the shaking doctor and unconscious nurses and grabbed the first mirror he could find. Rudy screamed bloody murder and started to make a run for it only to be blocked off by Clark. "Kent. Get out of my way. Please," he requested.

"No Rudy. There's something wrong with you. You won't find out if you run," Clark said not standing aside. He was prepared to incapacitate Rudy if he had to.

"Sorry Clark. But there's only one person that can help me now," and with that Rudy sprinted forward. Clark grabbed Rudy by the shoulders to keep him from running, but Rudy snatched both of Clark's wrists. Clark's body started to glow just like the nurses as he felt his strength starting to leave him. Rudy tossed Clark aside and tried to run again only to be cut off by Tess.

"I'm sorry Tess," he said and seized her neck stealing some of Tess' strength as well. He let go of her and made a break for it. Some of the hospital security team tried to stop him, but Rudy plowed straight through them; launching them both in opposite directions. Rudy was shocked by that display of strength.

"What the Hell is happening to me?" He thought as he vanished into the night.

* * *

**The Next Day**

Rudy's break out from the hospital was all over the news. Clark and Tess found themselves being questioned about it by at least half the school since they were there to witness it.

"Chloe's gonna be pissed when she finds out what she missed," Pete joked. "I'm surprised she wasn't back in school today though," Pete said.

"Maybe she stayed home today to catch up on her sleep. Who knows what time she got back into Smallville," Clark said though he was also thinking about Rudy as well. Something about Rudy's touch drained away some of his powers. He could actually feel himself getting weaker the longer Rudy held onto him.

What happened to him? Clark had heard about the accident back at the Luthor Corp. Plant, but he didn't think that sort of thing could happen to Rudy. It made Clark wonder just what went on behind those walls at times.

"You're probably right. Anyway I think we should start bragging my friend," Pete said to Clark.

"About what?" Clark asked.

"About the Spring Formal. We are essentially going to it with the best looking girls in school," Pete said.

"Pete we're just going as a group. It doesn't count," Clark said hoping he wouldn't crush his friend's enthusiasm.

"Be serious Clark. No one ever goes to these sorts of things as friends."

"Then what were you and Chloe back during the Homecoming dance?" Clark asked.

"Well, uh. That was different," Pete tried to defend himself.

"Right," Clark said and turned to walk in off.

"Where are you going Clark? School's over," he said.

"The gym," Clark answered. Though he didn't need to exercise, getting some blood pumping as the gym coach put it could maybe help him think better about the whole Rudy situation; and maybe about the looming day of the Spring Formal.

* * *

Tess was busy doing pushups in the gym. She was hoping it would take her mind off of seeing Rudy the way he was last night. It freaked her out to say the least especially when he took her by the neck. She'd never felt so weak before. To tell the truth she'd much rather think about Clark than about that. Even though it wasn't officially a date going to the Spring Formal in a group with him was probably the closest thing she'd get she'd get to it.

Once she reached a hundred pushups she decided that was enough for today. As she started to exit the room the door opened and she bumped into none other than Clark Kent.

"Sorry, Tess," Clark apologized with a laugh. "Wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's no problem," Tess accepted then noticed that Clark was holding her rather close. The two of them wanted to move, but some invisible force kept them together.

"Tess. About the… moment between us a several weeks back during the Nicodemus incident," Clark started. Both he and Tess were at a loss for breath.

"What about it?" Tess asked Clark, but he didn't answer her. The heat started to rise between them again. But like several other moments between them it was interrupted by the sound of approaching feet. Clark and Tess jumped away from one another just as the door burst through the door. The interrupting party was once again none other than Whitney.

Clark and Whitney narrowed their eyes at one another while the ex-football player walked over to one of the basketball hoops and started shooting around. His life couldn't be going any worse. First he loses his girlfriend, then his scholarship due to that stupid shoulder injury, and now he's been benched for the remainder of the season due to that same injury. Things were great for him up until Homecoming. He had been remembering more and more about that particular night each day since the Nicodemus Incident. He knew that all his problems circled around Clark and he was going to get back at him for that if it was the last thing he did.

While Whitney continued to shoot Lana stepped inside the gym as well. She was looking uneasy about something.

"Pete said I could find you here," she said to Clark. She was surprised to see Tess and noticed that she was blushing red.

"Is something wrong?" Clark asked noticing the way she looked.

"It's about Chloe and Jimmy. I'm not completly sure, but I think something might have happened to them."

* * *

**Crater Lake**

Rudy was hiding out in the forests near Crater Lake. He knew that he needed to get to Lex in order to find out what was wrong with him, but with the police likely hunting for him it wouldn't be easy. But despite all that there was something about this that Rudy liked. When he grabbed both Kent and Mercer he felt stronger than he ever did. He sent those two members of security flying at least a good five feet.

"I wonder," Rudy thought walking over to a rock. He raised both fists in the air and slammed them on the rock smashing a good portion of it. Rudy's shocked lips slowly formed into a smile. "This might not be so bad after all," he thought.

**To Be Continued…**


	14. Obscura Part 3

"Maggie, are you ok?" her partner and friend Dan Turpin asked.

"I'm fine Dan," Maggie mumbled into her desk. Dan knew he was going to regret this probably, but he reached forward and pulled up Maggie's head by the hair. He gasped at the sight of her blood shot eyes and almost dropped her head.

"How much sleep have you been getting?" He asked her.

"Not much since the Nicodemus incident," she answered then gave out a long yawn. These past few weeks Maggie had been trying and failing to find out something about Deputy Michael Birtigo.

There was just something achingly familiar about him, but she couldn't place it. But every search she conducted always turned out to be a dead end. It was almost as if he came from out of nowhere.

"Was there something that you needed?" She asked him trying to stay awake.

"I just came to tell you that I have someone I know trying to find out something on Birtigo," he answered.

"Really? Why?" Maggie asked him.

"Because you're my friend Maggie and I don't want this obsession of yours getting you hurt," he said.

"Thanks, Dan," Maggie said with a smile. "Is this guy of yours reliable?"

"100%"

"Who is he?"

"Let's just say he's from out of town."

"Like where?"

"Like Gotham," Dan replied and then he left before Maggie could question him any further. Maggie sighed and rubbed her eyes. Now that Dan had someone else working on the Birtigo mystery she could focus now on the latest missing person report. The car of one Chloe Ann Sullivan was found abandoned just outside of Metropolis. Her friend Jimmy Olson had also been reported missing since yesterday.

* * *

Lana stepped inside the empty Torch. Normally Chloe would be in here diligently writing her next article despite the fact that the principal might not even let her put it into the paper. Regardless that never stopped Chloe. But today it was devoid of life and Lana was very worried. The thing that worried her the most was that when she was in the hospital she had a brief vision of Chloe and Jimmy locked in a struggle with two armed men.

She thought she was just imagining things, but then it happened again that same night making Lana tell Clark and Tess about it. Neither of them was sure what to think of it, but almost an hour later Chloe's car was found abandoned and the people at the Daily Planet said Chloe never showed up for her interview. Chloe's father immediately filed a missing person's report in both Smallville and Metropolis and now all they could do was wait.

"I thought I might find you in here," Lana heard Tess say.

"Tess," Lana said turning around. "What's up?" She asked.

"It's something that I've been meaning to talk to you about. I know that it sort of seems out of place given recent events, but I just feel the need to get this off my chest."

"What is it?" Lana asked her.

"Remember when you asked me what I thought of Clark?"

"Yes," Lana replied wondering where Tess was going with this though she had an idea.

"The truth is." Tess barely started her response before a frightened expression appeared on Lana's face and she almost collapsed to the floor. Tess caught her and called out Lana's name, but she seemed to be off in another world.

* * *

_Lana was in a dark room. There seemed to be a bunch of stuffed animals all over the place._

_"I know you're in here kid. Might as well stop trying to hide," a man said in a garbled voice. The person heard approaching feet and turned around to block a punch from Jimmy. He grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the wall._

_"Chloe, run!" Jimmy shouted to her as the man stabbed a syringe into Jimmy's neck and injected him with something that knocked him out cold. The man whipped his head to the right spotting Chloe heading for the exit. _

_"Stop her!" He shouted. A second man appeared in the man's line of sight and shot Chloe in the back with a tazer. He dragged Chloe by the feet over to the other guy._

_"You were supposed to be watching them," he said in a cold fashion._

_"The Olson kid surprised me," he replied dropping Jimmy to the floor._

_"Well make sure there aren't any more surprises," the other man said. He walked away and after about a minute came back dragging in a metal coffin._

* * *

"Lana!" Tess shouted and then slapped Lana.

"Ow!" Lana yelled back.

"Sorry. You weren't answering me. You were in some sort of trance for the last three minutes. Was it another vision?"

"Yes. I saw it. I saw everything," Lana breathed out.

"What did you see?"

"I had this vision; this intense vision," Lana explained trying to catch her breath. "I saw Chloe and Jimmy being attacked."

"Did you see where they were?" Tess asked her.

"I saw where they were being held, but I don't what the place was."

* * *

Lana spent the next several hours trying to fully remember what she saw in her vision.

While she, Clark, and Tess tried to discover what truly happened to their friends Rudy Jones was making a few discoveries of his own. Rudy had just finished draining the energy from a few teenagers, who were unfortunate enough to cross his path. He didn't drain them enough to kill them, but he took enough energy to feed himself. Rudy found himself feeling stronger and faster than ever before.

Not only that, but he discovered that he also absorbed the memories and knowledge locked inside their brains. There was literally nothing on Earth that anyone could keep hidden from him. He was very much angry when he first woke up from that coma, but now he's really starting to like this.

* * *

Chloe's friends back in grade school always said that her curiosity was going to land her in trouble one of these days. She was glad they couldn't see her now because they'd be giving her a big fat 'I told you so'.

Those creeps that attacked her and Jimmy had sedated both of them and placed them into a metal coffin. They then buried them both alive with the only source of light being the green glow of some of the left over liquid in a syringe they left in the coffin.

They must've used the majority of the sedative on Jimmy because Chloe wasn't out cold. Quite the contrary she was still awake and aware of everything. On the outside she may appear to be calm, but she was screaming on the inside. No one knew that she and Jimmy were trapped down here and by the time someone discovered this coffin it would be much too late.

Chloe could feel tears streaming down her face as she thought about how she was going to die before she had a chance to actually do anything in life.

"This totally sucks," Chloe thought as she looked at Jimmy. He was still out; all the good he'd be in here. Chloe felt her body start to regain some of its movement, but she didn't bother to try anything. She'd only waste energy trying to get out of this inescapable situation. Instead she just closed her eyes and let her mind drift off.

"Clark; if there was ever a time for you to be the meteor freak now would be that time," she thought.

* * *

Clark super sped up to the top of the windmill, which over looked the entire field. If Lana's vision was right then Chloe and Jimmy were buried were buried somewhere here. Clark used his X-Ray vision and scanned the entire field until he spotted them.

Clark was back down the windmill in seconds and plunged his fist into the spot where Chloe and Jimmy were buried. He pulled with all his strength and opened the coffin.  
Chloe's eyes slowly opened and all the fear in her heart instantly disappeared when she saw Clark.

"Clark. I knew it would be you. It's always you," she said tearfully as she threw her arms around him. After hugging Clark for a few seconds she broke away and tried to pull Jimmy out of the coffin as well.

"I've got him," Clark said carefully pulling Jimmy out. "Is he ok?"

"Yes. Just heavily sedated," Chloe answered trying to stay calm though the fear still slowly came back.

Out in the distance one of Chloe and Jimmy's captors watched the entire scene through a pair of binoculars.

"How the Hell did the plan go so wrong?" he said.

"It doesn't matter now. Best we leave it alone or we could risk getting ourselves arrested," his partner said.

* * *

"Well you certainly picked a good time to take a walk on the weird side," Chloe said to Lana as she lay in her hospital bed. She was also saying that to Clark, but he wouldn't know that given how he didn't know that she knows about whatever powers he might possess. Jimmy was still unconcious from the sedatives, but the doctors said he should wake up in about an hour or so.

"Thanks, I think," Lana said. "Do you have any idea why you and Jimmy were kidnapped?"

"One of them said that he wanted us to stop snooping around in other people's business," Chloe answered.

"What did he mean by that?" Clark asked her.

"These past few weeks Jimmy and I had been looking into the disappearances of people that were meteor infected. We thought that Luthor Corp. might be involved. That's probably what he meant. I told him I'd stop when I was dead and buried and he said that could be arranged," Chloe said then closed her eyes trying not to think about that gruesome memory.

"Maybe I can talk to Lex," Tess said.

"Are you kidding?" Chloe asked. "If he is involved there's no way he'd willingly admit it."

"But what would Lex want with meteor freaks?" She asked.

"I don't know," Chloe responded. "But I aim to find out."

"Hold on Chloe. Your investigating almost got you killed. I think you really should back off of this," Clark said.

"I'm not going to let myself be intimidated by a couple of guys in funny looking masks," Chloe said.

"But they could strike back at any time and we'll have no idea when."

"As far as I can tell I still have my power," Lana said. "I could still have another vision."

"But we still have no idea who this guy is," Clark said.

"Not yet," Tess said. "I did a little research and I found this article about these people that claimed to share a psychic link during times of stress. You might share a link with the kidnapper."

"I remembered seeing meteor rocks at the sight of the explosion," Lana said. "That means that I might share a link with one of those people from that day."  
"Do you remember who got to you first?" Clark asked.

"It was either Gary Watts or Michael Birtigo. I can't remember which one though."

"Oh shit," Chloe cursed.

"What is it?" Clark asked.

"Watts and Birtigo were here to question me about the attack remember. We told them everything; even Lana's power."

"That means one of them might come after me," Lana panicked.

"Calm down Lana," Clark said to her. "Alright. Right now your best bet is to go home and stay there. I can give you a ride back in my truck, but first I need to call the sheriff."

"I'll stay with Chloe in case one of them comes here," Tess offered.

"Thanks Tess," Chloe said smiling a little. Lana stood up to go wait in the parking lot while Clark started to call the sheriff with his cell phone. She was little more than 2 feet out of the hospital when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hello again Ms. Lang," Birtigo greeted. Lana gulped and calmly moved his hand from her shoulder.

"Deputy Birtigo. What do you want?" She asked starting to walk away from him, but not too far from the hospital.

"Just checking up on you guys again. Seeing if you've had any more visions of Chloe's attacker," he said.

"Well if I have any more you'll be the first to know," Lana said as calmly as she could then suddenly felt a splitting head ache.

* * *

_The guy was walking behind Deputy Birtigo. Before he had a chance to act he was tazed from behind. Now he and Lana were face to face. She tried to run, but he caught her arm and pulled her back into him. He injected her with a small dose of a sedative and threw her into a cop car._

* * *

It took him a good ten minutes to get through, but Clark finally managed to notify the sheriff of the situation. "I let the sheriff know about Watts and Birtigo. All we can do now is wait," he informed Chloe. Suddenly Michael came staggering into the room.

"Why are you here?" Chloe asked; heart starting to race out of fear.

"I came to make sure you were ok. Some nut tazed me outside ten minutes ago and took Lana," he said rubbing the still stinging spot.

"Deputy Birtigo. It's your partner. He's the one that Lana's been having visions of," Clark told him.

"Gary? What makes you think it was him?" Michael asked.

"Lana developed a connection with him due to the meteor rocks. She wasn't just having visions. She was literally seeing everything through his eyes."

"Do you know where Deputy Watts might be?" Clark asked.

"I don't know. He could be anywhere."

"Hold on," Chloe said. "When Jimmy and I were being held captive I remember seeing a bunch of stuffed animals. It looked like something you'd see at a…"

"A fair," Clark finished for her.

"Gary does have a job as a night watch man at the fairgrounds," Michael said and then Clark shot up.

"Get the sheriff," Clark said before racing out of the room.

"He does that a lot," Chloe said to the Deputy.

* * *

When Lana regained conciousness she realized she was in a fun house. Her hands were tapped together and there didn't appear to be another soul in sight.

"Hello Lana," She heard a familiar voice say.

"Deputy Watts," She gasped as he walked into her eye sight. "Why did you take me?"

"I couldn't risk you having another vision now could I," he said.

"Why did you kidnap Chloe and Jimmy?" Lana decided to ask.

"I didn't want to hurt them. I didn't even want money. I wanted to rescue them," he admitted.

"You kidnapped them just so you could take the credit for finding them?" Lana asked sounded disguested.

"I could have been a good cop!" He shouted into her face. "The best cop this town has ever seen. This case would have made. My. Career," he said and turned his back on her.

"But it doesn't matter now. I can still be the hero."

"What are you going to do Deputy Watts?" Lana asked never sounding more scared in her life.

"Solve your murder," he said un-holstering his gun making Lana's eyes almost bulge out of her head.

"No please," she begged holding up her hands. Watts aimed his weapon and was prepared to fire when Lana's hands started to glow green.

"What the Hell?" He asked noticing her hands. The glow started to increase until a burst of energy fired out of them hitting Watts in the chest knocking him into the air and crashing on top of a nearby table. Lana looked at her hands with a horrified expression.

"What did I…what did I just do?" She whispered to herself.

"Lana!" She heard Clark call out.

"I'm in here!" She yelled to him and he dashed into the room while Watts made a break for it.

"Lana? Are you alright?" He asked unbinding her hands.

"Clark. It's Watts. Deputy Watts," she said.

"Stay here," Clark told her and ran back outside to find Deputy Watts. "It's over Watts!" He yelled out. "The police are already on their way!" After he said this he felt something bounce off his back. He turned around and saw a multitude of bullets speeding towards him. Clark just stood there and took every shot. To his surprise the bullets didn't break against his chest. Instead they bounced off it.

"What in the world are you?" Deputy Watts asked as the sound of Police sirens grew louder. He tried to make a run for it, but Clark sped over to him, grabbed his shoulder and threw him into one of the stands.

Clark sped from the scene just as the cops arrived.

Meanwhile Lana stood back up just as she felt another headache.

* * *

_"Gary, drop the gun!" The sheriff ordered._

_Deputy Watts let out a loud yell as he raised his own gun up to fire. The sheriff never allowed him to get off a shot and shot the man in the eye severing his and Lana's connection for good._

* * *

Lana took a sigh of relief that she'd no longer be plagued by the connection between her and Deputy Watts, but that was the least of her worries. What had she done to him? Was she truly a meteor freak? Her question was answered in the form of her hands starting to glow green again and then another burst of energy shot out of them making her jump.

"Oh God," she whispered.

Clark ran back into the funhouse and knelt in front of the still shaking Lana.

"Are you alright?" He asked putting his hands on her shoulders. Lana gave him a small nod though she was far from alright. But she couldn't tell Clark.

"Did you find Gary's partner?" She asked him shifting the subject away from here.

"There was no one else here," Clark said taking a look around the fun house. He saw no sign of anybody else.

"Anyone in here?" The sheriff asked.

"Over here," Lana called out finally starting to calm down as the cops entered the fun house.

* * *

**Metropolis P.D.**

"Good evening Margaret," Dan said standing in front of her desk. "I've got some good news for you."

"Great. I could use some good news right about now," the still tired detective said.

"My guy came through," he said placing a folder on her desk.

"This'll finally give us some answers on Birtigo?" She asked now seeming full of energy.

"Look and find out." Maggie did so and after a few minutes her eyes widened.

"Son of a bitch."

"What is it?"

* * *

**The Mansion sometime later**

Gary's partner like always barged into Lex's private study without even bothering to knock. To his surprise Lex wasn't sitting at his desk like normal. A hand grabbed his shoulder and shoved him up against the wall.

"Lex! What the hell!" He shouted. Lex punched him in the face and shoved him to the floor. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at the guy's head.

"Your mission was to intimidate Chloe and Jimmy. You weren't supposed to kidnap Lana!" He shouted and kicked him in the face making him spit out blood.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't put a bullet in your brain right now, Birtigo!"  
"I had nothing to do with it! It was all Gary! You need me and you know it!" He shouted at Lex. Lex clenched his teeth and started pulling back on the trigger. Just when he was about to fire he released it and lowered the gun. Michael pulled himself to his feet and wiped away some of the blood.

"Gary was a desperate man. When I suggested we do this to boost his career I had no idea he'd take things that far. I wanted to stop him, but I didn't want to risk getting compromised."

Lex took a deep breath and walked over to the table to pour himself a drink. "I trust your identity hasn't been compromised Michael."

"Mr. Luthor it's just us. We don't have to use that alias of mine."

"As you wish Pierce," Lex said taking a sip of his drink.

"And you don't have to worry about my identity. I made sure I wasn't exposed."

"Is there anything else that you wish to tell me?" Lex asked.

Pierce thought back to when he spotted Lana using her power after Gary had been shot. Neither she nor Kent knew he was watching them. He considered telling Lex about it, but after seeing the way he acted about her being kidnapped, Pierce knew he wouldn't do anything about her. So he decided to keep it to himself.

"No sir. There was nothing at all," he lied. "You may not do anything about the freak, but I will," he thought.

**To Be Continued… **

**A/N: I apologize for the lack of Clark and Tess interactions this chapter, but I'll make up for that during my re-write of Tempest. I can't say much about what will happen during that chapter though I will say the Tornado won't be invovled this go around.**

**Also the guy who played Micahel Birtigo in 'Obscura' also played Pierce during season 7's 'Traveler'. Anyway see ya soon!**


	15. Tempest

It had been three days since Chloe and Jimmy's kidnapping. Deputy Watt's accomplice in the act had yet to be determined. Even with the guy still lurking in the shadows the dynamic duo was now more determined than ever to find out just what this guy didn't want them to know.

They knew that Luthor Corp. was definitely involved in the string of disappearances of several of their meteor infected classmates. All they needed to do now is discover his identity. They thought about asking Lex, but that idea hit the road faster than a speeding bullet.

Elsewhere there had been numerous people reported into Smallville Hospital ever since Eric had been taken down. The doctors couldn't explain their conditions. It was as if  
their very life forces had been drained right out of them.

* * *

Lana opened her locker and took her necklace off. The incident three days ago was still haunting her memory. She didn't want to say out loud what she knew to be the truth. She was some sort of meteor freak. She knew her powers had something to do with meteor rocks and as such started to wear her necklace only when she wasn't in crowded areas in the off chance that it might trigger her powers. Part of her was frightened that she might end up like all of her other infected classmates. Lana tried to calm down and placed her necklace in her locker.

"That won't happen, Lana. Most of those people were basket cases to begin with," she thought in a vain attempt to stop panicking. She shut her locker door and jumped when she saw Whitney's face to the right of her.

"Whitney. You scared me," Lana said.

"Doesn't take much to do that it seems nowadays," he snidely remarked.

Lana resisted the urge to slap him. "You've been a real ass these past few weeks you know that?" She asked him. The bell sounded and Lana slung her backpack over her shoulder. Whitney watched her walk away and saw her meet up with Kent at the end of the Hallway. He balled up his right fist and slammed it into the locker. All of this was Kent's fault. The injury, losing Lana, losing his scholarship; everything. He had been thinking long and hard about how to make Kent pay and he just might've settled on an idea.

* * *

Tess was the first one to class like she normally was. While she waited for everyone to start piling into the room her cell phone buzzed. She pulled it out of her pocket and saw there was a text message. She opened the message and froze in her seat; almost dropping her phone as well. The message said:

_**I know what you did.**_

Tess checked to see who the message was from, but it was marked as Anonymous. Tess shut her phone and slid it back into her pocket. This person couldn't mean what happened during the Nicodemus incident. Could they? The rest of the class arrived and Tess tried to act like she hadn't seen the message on her phone. 'Tried' being the word.

"Good morning Smallville High! This is Leslie the Live Wire with an important morning announcement." A voice full of energy sounded over the P.A.

"I'm just here to tell you that tomorrow is the long awaited Spring Formal, which hopefully won't end like this year's Homecoming dance did. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet…well then what are you doing sitting around listening to me for! Go, go, go, go, go!" The announcement ended and the entire class sat in silence.

"Uh… who was that?" Clark asked.

"Leslie Willis; school's new morning announcement girl," Chloe said.

"She definitely lives up to her self appointed nick name," Jimmy said as the teacher started the class for the day. Thoughts concerning the text message made it difficult for Tess to stay focused during class; something that didn't go unnoticed by Clark.

When school was finally over Clark caught Tess over by her locker.

"Hi Clark," she said giving him a bright smile.

"Hi Tess," Clark said returning her smile. He shook his head and focused on what he wanted ask her. "Are you alright? You seemed like you were on edge all day."

Tess wanted to tell him about the text, but didn't want to give him a reason to worry if I wasn't about what she thought it was. "I've just been looking over my shoulder a lot since the Nicodemus incident. You never know when someone might sneak up on you in this town," she said.

"I'm always here if you need me," Clark said. Tess laughed.

"Thanks Clark," she said then restrained his arms by his side and pinned him against the locker. "But don't forget, I can take care of myself."

"I'll be sure and remember that," Clark said. "Can you let go of me please?" He asked.

"Sure," she said releasing him. Clark could've broken himself free any time, but he didn't want to hurt Tess. He also sort of liked it.

"Hey guys," Chloe said joining the two along with Pete, Jimmy, and Lana.

"Hi Chloe. What's up?" Clark asked.

"Well as Leslie the lively reminded us all tomorrow is the dance. I just want to check to see if you guys have your tickets."

"We got them plus extra," Pete said.

"What's the extra for?" Lana asked.

"In the inevitable event that one of you shows up without your ticket and trust me it's going to happen," Jimmy said and Chloe hit him over the head.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?" Jimmy asked rubbing his head.

"No reason, James," Chloe said patting the spot she hit. "You all have means of transportation right?"

"Yes Chloe," the three men all groaned out. Pete and Jimmy were driving themselves, Chloe and Lana were driving together, and Clark was picking up Tess.

"And last but not least…"

"Chloe if you're going to ask if we have the proper dress attire for the dance, don't," Jimmy cut her off. Chloe raised her eyebrows at Jimmy then turned to Lana and Chloe.

"Well Lex got me a dress for the dance, but I'm not too sure I want to wear it," Tess said.

"Why?" Lana asked.

"It's black. It's not exactly my favorite color. I feel uncomfortable in it," she answered.

"I was thinking about wearing what I had during the homecoming dance," Lana started.

"Out of the question, Lang. Looks like we're going to have to do a little shopping," Chloe said putting her hands over Tess and Lana's shoulders.

"You're kidding right Chloe? What are the odds of us actually finding something the day before," Tess said only to be cut off.

"You don't know me very well Tess," Chloe said smiling at her two friends. "We'll see you guys later," she said only Clark, Jimmy, and Pete were gone. "Guys?"

"They were just here a second ago," Tess said.

"Boys. Here the word 'shopping' and they run for the hills," Chloe joked.

* * *

Rudy observed the Luthor Mansion security from a safe distance away. It was nighttime now and he figured this was the best time to strike. There were only a mere two guards standing watch outside and they didn't look particularly interested in their jobs. They probably wouldn't know what to do the instant a threat appeared. Rudy had been absorbing the energy from people at Crater Lake for the past three days now and he felt stronger and faster than before. The downside was that the energy he stole didn't last and he could feel some of it slipping away even now as he remained hidden.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to get moving," Rudy thought and made a run for the mansion.

He hopped the outer fence and then one of the guard's lights shined on him. Rudy ran at him and knocked his gun out of his hands. Rudy blocked his punch and stole some of his energy until he fainted. The second guard appeared in Rudy's sight and he seized the downed guard's gun. He reacted fast and shot the second guard in the leg before he had a chance to get off a shot.

"What the Hell is going on out there! ?" A voice shouted over the guard's radio. Rudy punched him out and took it.

"There's some freak out here. We tried gunning him down, but her made a break to the back of the mansion," Rudy said mimicking the guard's voice. "We need some help out here."

"On our way," the guard responded. Rudy heard the sound of the backdoor being swung open and then made his move inside the Mansion. He sprinted as fast as he could; not even stopping when a left behind guard got in his way. Rudy didn't waste time draining him and instead knocked him out with a single punch. He charged headlong at the doors to the study and kicked them open. Lex was calmly standing in front of the pool table taking a sip of his drink.

"Good evening Rudy," he said taking another sip. "I was wondering how long it would take you to come here."

"You seem awfully calm, Luthor," Rudy said stepping closer to Lex, who didn't move or even seem intimidated despite Rudy's rather garish appearance.

"Come on Rudy. I know you and the last thing that you are is a killer. The only reason you came here is because you want something from me."

"You're right, Luthor. I like this power, but I want to be changed back to my normal looking self. Given how it was your chemicals that did this to me I figured there might be something there that can reverse this."

"Even if there was something that could change your appearance what reason would I have to give it to you?"

"I'm a walking parasite Lex. When I touch someone I absorb more than just their life energy, shall we call it. I absorb everything they have locked up here," he said pointing to his head.

"If I hang onto them long enough I can learn every secret they've been hiding. I'm willing to bet money there're a few secrets you're dying to know."

"You're absolutely right Rudy," Lex said setting down his glass. "I'm sure you remember Clark from Smallville High."

"Kent? What could you possibly want to know about him?" Rudy asked.

"He's hiding something from me. Something since they day we first met."

"Why don't you just ask him? Aren't you two the best of friends?"

"Yes, but that's apparently not enough for him to trust me fully," Lex said with partial disdain in his voice.

"You use your power to find out what exactly it is that Clark is hiding and you have my word that I'll find a way to cure your…condition. And I suggest you make your answer quick because by now my team has most likely realized that you've sent them on a wild goose chase."

Rudy thought back to when he briefly drained Clark. It had been only a few seconds, but he felt such a rush of power. Even more than what he had drained from all the people at Crater Lake. If he drained him longer he'd get even more powerful.

"Alright Lex," Rudy said; lips forming a twisted smile. "You've got a deal."

**To be continued…**


	16. Parasite

**A/N: *takes a deep breath* I hope you all enjoy this chapter. A lot of things happen in it. First there's one thing I've been meaning to say, but never got around to. **

**The two actors I've been imagining in the roles of Rudy and Leslie have been Fredric Lane (Azazel in Supernatural) and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars and Elle on Heroes). You don't have to change you imagination to match mine though. Just thought I'd throw that out.**

It was mid-afternoon at the police station in Smallville. It was a slow day today with nothing to report. Pierce was going through some police files when the most unexpected thing happened. Maggie Sawyer, looking very excited in contrast to her usual personality, entered the police station.

"May I ask what you are doing here?" He asked the pleased as punch Sawyer.

"I've waited a long time for this. You're under arrest Birtigo," Maggie announced restraining his hands behind his back.

"You've lost it Maggie. On what charge could you possibly have to arrest me?" He questioned.

"For the murder and subsequent impersonation of Michael Birtigo."

"Ok now I'm sure you've lost it," He sneered.

"Have I, Pierce? I've done my homework plus extra credit. I know what I'm talking about. You went to great lengths to cover your tracks, but I've got a few friends in high and dark places." She said to him. The scowl on Pierce's face vanished.

"Don't look so innocent now do you? I knew I recognized you from somewhere Pierce."

"What are you talking about? How do you know that name?" He asked trying to still play dumb.

"Don't you remember? We were together at the police academy years ago. You got thrown out for excessive force and I never saw you again. I bet you thought it was so long ago I'd never remember who you were. Well guess again."

"You can't prove anything, Maggie," he said as she hauled him off of to one of the cells.

"I thought I told you it's Margaret; especially to you, Pierce. And you'll find out I can in fact prove everything. You better enjoy your stay in this small cell because you're gonna be soon rotting in a super max prison. I've been checking into the police reports down here as well and there just happen to be tons more missing person's reports. Given how you've already committed one murder I wouldn't put those others past you either. I'd be nervous if I were you. "

_I wouldn't count on that, Margaret_, Pierce thought when he was shut inside of his cell.

* * *

Chloe and the girls were once again back in Metropolis trying to find the right dresses for the Spring Formal, which was tonight. Yesterday had only been a success for Chloe and Lana. Tess was still searching for the best dress and wasn't having much luck.

"Just keep looking Tess. I'm sure the right dress is staring you straight in the face," Chloe encouraged.

"Sure it is," Tess mumbled turning to her left and then her eyes spotted the perfect dress.

"Don't you say a word," Tess said to Chloe and walked over to the dress.

"Finally. I don't think I could've taken another minute in this place," Lana said.

"Tell me about it. Changing the subject, what happened to your necklace? Noticed you haven't been wearing it like you used to," Chloe said.

"About that. My necklace was stolen out of my locker yesterday," Lana told her.

"What? Who could've done that?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know. Someone broke the lock. I reported it to the principal, but I doubt I'm going to be seeing that thing again." Lana said. In truth she wasn't very broken up about the loss of her necklace. No meteor rocks mean no freaky powers; at least that's what she hoped. Lana hadn't had any incidents with her power since the incident with Deputy Watts, but her fears that it might happen again lingered.

Meanwhile Tess reached the dress and laid a hand on it when someone else's hand grabbed it as well.

"What the? Dawn?" Tess said looking up at the person the hand belonged to.

"Mercer. What are you doing? Let go of the dress," the popular and snobbish Dawn Stiles commanded.

"I touched it first Dawn therefore I get to claim it. Now I'm warning you Dawn. Let. Go. Of the dress," Tess threatened.

"Hey I saw it first, Mercer," Dawn said refusing to relinquish it.

"Are you two really going to come to blows over a single dress?" Chloe asked trying to step between the two. Tess and Dawn looked at each other and then at Chloe.

"Yes," they replied simultaneously.

_Oh boy, _Chloe thought.

"Well you should know Tess, that the security guy is heading this way and I'd hate to see you get thrown out of this store," Dawn said and Tess looked over her shoulder to see no one. Dawn stepped on Tess' foot making her howl out in pain. Dawn had of course been wearing heels. Tess lost her hold on the dress and Dawn took it into her possession.

"Genius," she giggled turning her back to Tess, which was a big mistake. Tess charged Dawn from behind and they both fell to the floor.

"Let go of the dress!" Tess shouted wrestling her for it.

"Get off me!" Dawn screeched at her elbowing Tess in her mouth.

"Bitch!" Tess cursed and hit Dawn in the eye. She was about to really let Dawn have it when the security team actually did show up this time and forcibly broke the two apart.

"What seems to be the trouble here ladies… not you again," the guard holding Tess said seeing Dawn in the other guard's grip.

"Long time no see," Dawn nervously laughed.

"I'm getting very tired of breaking up your fights Ms. Stiles. Throw her out of here," he told his partner.

"This isn't over Tess! I'll get back at you for this!" Dawn yelled as the guard started to drag her away.

"Wait!" Tess called out making the guard stop. Tess walked up to Dawn and snatched the undamaged dress out of her hands.

"Thanks," she said and Dawn stuck out her tongue at Tess. Tess faced the other security guard who had his arms folded.

"Before you throw me out can I at least pay for this?" Tess asked.

"Did you give Dawn that black eye?"

"Yes," Tess answered.

"Then by all means go ahead," he allowed.

"Thank you sir," Tess said.

Chloe and Lana speechlessly watched Tess go over to pay for the dress. Most people would never have the guts to strike the queen of Smallville High, but then again Tess isn't most people.

* * *

For Clark the day could not be going any slower. He wished he could somehow use his speed to accelerate the rotation of the Earth so it would be time for the Spring Formal. But he'd need to be able to fly to do such a feat and heights aren't his thing. So instead Clark tried to make the time pass by working on the family tractor.

This old dinosaur had seen many days on the Kent farm and if it could speak it'd ask to be put out of its misery. It had to be fixed at least once a month. While Clark continued this tedious task there was a crash in some other part of the barn. Clark left the tractor and went to check out the source of the crash. He went towards where the power tools were and saw something he hadn't expected. Rudy was lying on the floor looking barely conscious.

"Clark. Help me," he begged reaching towards him.

"Rudy. What's wrong?" Clark asked. This was the first time Clark saw Rudy since he escaped the hospital. He wondered what became of him and never could have anticipated this.

"Just feeling a little drained," he said and took hold of Clark's arm. Both their bodies started to glow at that instant and Rudy started laughing like a maniac. Clark swatted away Rudy's hand and stumbled backwards almost losing his footing.

"That felt good," Rudy said and used Clark's stolen speed to run behind him to the tractor. Rudy chucked the thing at Clark who put up his hands to protect himself. The tractor collided with Clark knocking him into one of the walls of the barn and outside; the tractor lying broken in half on the ground. Rudy was on Clark again lifting him into the air by the jacket to drain more of Clark's power.

Clark swung both his fists into either side of Rudy head. Rudy grabbed his pounding head leaving an opening for Clark to punch him in his side throwing Rudy near the windmill. He landed in the mud and crashed into part of a fence. He swiftly scrambled to his feet. Clark ran to Rudy's position, but kept his distance.

Rudy pointed at Clark and yelled, "This isn't over!" He super sped away from the Kent farm as quick as he could. Clark tried to go after him, but felt very fatigued. If he went after Rudy there would be a chance he'd steal all of Clark's powers. So he let him go; for now.

* * *

An hour following their tryst Rudy casually entered the Luthor Mansion like he was a welcome guest. "You'll be pleased to know Lex that I've made contact with Kent. You're right. He is hiding something from you."

"And what would that be?" Lex asked. He could use some productive news since Pierce's arrest early today.

"I don't have all the answers yet. I will soon though," Rudy relayed. "I did come across something else not involving Clark. I was recently at the Luthor Corp. plant. Hope you don't mind, but I helped myself to the life energy of a few of the older guards."

"Whether I mind depends on what you have to tell me." Lex said to Rudy.

"Let's say that your dear old dad has a few skeletons in his closet that would shock even you. Check out some of his old files if you have the time to. You won't believe what you'll find," Rudy cryptically answered.

* * *

After Rudy's attack the day went by a lot faster. There was now little more than an hour to go before the Spring Formal. Clark was all dressed up and triple checked to make sure he had the tickets.

"Why so nervous Clark?" Martha asked him. "It's only a dance."

"Is this about what happened earlier?" Jonathan asked him. He was partially devastated at the destruction of the tractor though Martha told him now he had no excuse to not get a new one.

"In a way; with my speed Rudy can strike at any time he chooses. I'm worried he might try to attack tonight. I've seen what my power can do to people. Eric and Whitney lost it and it looks like Rudy might lose it soon too."

"What just a minute Clark," Jonathan said. "When did Whitney ever have your powers?"

"Whoops," Clark said. He never did tell his parents about homecoming and figured he might as well do so now. He told them everything about Whitney gaining strength and speed similar to his through that octagonal disk and how he never saw it again since that night. He also mentioned that he thinks it might be part of his spaceship.

"Were you ever going to tell us this might I ask?" Martha asked her son.

"I didn't want you guys to worry."

"Well we are worried now son," Jonathan said. "There isn't much we can do about it now though except pray no one figures out what it is should it ever be found."

"We're going to have a longer discussion about this later Clark, but for now go enjoy yourself. You don't want to keep your date waiting after all," Martha said.

"It's not a date," Clark tried to convince them.

"People were saying that when we were you age Clark. 9 times out of ten whenever that was said it was a date," Jonathan laughed.

* * *

Lex decided to take Rudy's suggestion and after some doing, hacked into his father's mainframe and started cycling through the files. At first he found nothing of much worth until one file caught his eye. It was labeled:

**Project Mercer**

"What on Earth?" He thought moving his mouse to click on it when he heard a knock at his door.

"Umm… come in," he said not used to people knocking on the door to his study. People usually just barged right in.

"Hi Lex," Tess said. "How do I look?"

"You look amazing," Lex answered. "Even if you aren't in the dress I got you."

"I'm sorry Lex," Tess apologized. "Black just isn't my color. It was nice of you to do so, however." Tess said.

"Well I'm sure Clark will like it too," Lex said.

"Speaking of Clark I wonder where he is. The dance is going start soon."

"Maybe he's just being fashionably late," Lex joked.

As a matter of fact Clark was just outside the door. Clark took a deep breath and rang the doorbell to the mansion. 30 seconds of uncomfortable silence later the door opened and Clark's breath was instantly taken away.

"Tess. You look…wow," he stammered. Tess smiled and laughed. She was in a blue spaghetti strap dress that went down to a little past her knees and it also showed off some of her breasts. Not enough to scream 'slut' but enough to tease. The dress was definitely doing its job now.

"You wouldn't believe the trouble I went through to obtain this dress," she joked. "I know blue is your favorite color and when I saw this dress I was drawn to it like a mouth to the flame."

Right then and there all of Clark's fears about tonight instantly evaporated. He was going to take Tess' advice and just relax and have fun for once.

"Shall we go?" He asked holding out his hand. Tess took Clark's hand and he took her to his truck. Tess felt her heart flutter in her chest with every step she took.

_Nothing could possibly ruin tonight, _she thought.

Lex watched them leave from the window. He was still thinking about that file he saw on his computer.

"What have you been up to dad?" he thought out loud. He went back to his computer, but as he figured he'd been blocked out of his dad's files. Maybe he could use Rudy to discover secrets other than Clark's.

* * *

Clark pulled into the school about twenty minutes after the dance was supposed to start. He and Tess exited the truck and were greeted by Chloe, Jimmy, Pete, and Lana.

"I was beginning to wonder what became of you guys," Lana said to the pair.

"Come on. It's not like these things ever start on time," Tess said.

The boys saw the dresses the girl were in and gave them all 'are you serious' looks.

"What?" Chloe asked.

"You're dressed in Red. Lana's in white. Tess is in blue. What do you think?" Jimmy asked.

"How patriotic," Pete commented.

"We didn't plan this. It just happened," Lana said.

"Riiiiiight," Pete said.

"Let's forget this and just have a good time," Chloe said and the group agreed.

The group of friends pushed their way through the large crowd of people all standing in front of the entrance. There were so many people in the hallways that Clark was beginning to wonder if anybody at all was in the gym where the dance was taking place. To his surprise, however, the place was nearly full to capacity.

"Hello Smallville High! This is Leslie 'The Live Wire' your DJ for tonight!" Leslie shouted into the microphone.

"See. Just starting," Tess said to Lana.

"Hope none of you guys came here tired cause we're gonna party all night long! WOOOHOO!" Leslie shouted.

"Somebody had one too many cups of coffee tonight," Jimmy commented.

"From what I hear Leslie's always like this," Pete said pouring some punch. Leslie put on the first song for the night and the whole gym switched into party mode.

"I'm going in," Tess said taking Clark's hand and pulled him with her into the massive crowd of people. After stopping at some point Clark held Tess close so as to not lose her in the mob. Tess' face was buried in his chest with her arms around his neck as they started swaying to the music. Clark's hands started on Tess' waist, but as the song continued he felt his attraction to Tess starting to take over again and his hands slid down to her ass.

Tess gasped at first when she felt him grab her there and then a smile appeared on her face as she tried to hold Clark even closer to her. Next, Clark spun Tess completely around so that her back was pressed into his chest.

She had one arm around Clark's neck while her other covered the hands on her chest, which started to caress the areas of exposed flesh. Tess could feel Clark's hot breath on her neck and then his lips started kissing all over it. Tess sighed and let her eyes flutter closed. She had been attracted to Clark from the moment she saw him and she could tell that he was attracted to her as well.

Tess had very vivid dreams of the times they nearly kissed and things always went further than that. Right now in this moment things were even better than her dreams. All too soon the song stopped and so did Clark and Tess. And yet they didn't let go of each other. Tess' tongue came out of her mouth and slowly licked her lips. Her hand grasped Clark's leg and squeezed it making Clark gasp this time.

"Those two need to get a room," Jimmy said fighting his way through the mob with the others behind him. One song and the four of them were already exhausted.

"Anyone else surprised by what they saw? That was a different side of Clark," Chloe said.

"Tess just has that effect on people. From what I've heard half the football team was ready to dump their girlfriends like hot rocks when Tess transferred here and can you honestly blame them?" Pete asked. Chloe responded by hitting him over the head.

"What did you do that for?" Pete asked.

"It's a family thing. My cousin punches shoulders. I hit heads," Chloe answered. "You guys would probably like her."

* * *

"Are you planning on stopping any time soon?" Pierce asked Maggie, who was pacing around his cell.

"I've got nothing better to do at the moment, Pierce," she responded. "You know I have to hand it to you. You did a pretty good job covering your tracks. When I saw you as Michael Birtigo you were a totally different person. You having hair did through me off, but your new personality took things further. If the Nicodemus Incident hadn't taken place I never would've noticed there was something off about you."

"I guess fortune favored you that day," Pierce said.

"One thing still bugs me, however. Why go to all this trouble Pierce? Killing and impersonating a small town officer. Did you have some big plan in mind that failed to come to fruition because I busted you?"

"I don't have to answer that Margaret. I will say that Metropolis lost someone that could've made a good cop."

"At what cost though Pierce? The world needs people to protect it, but what good are those people if they are just as bad as the ones' they fight?"

"Always the good cop, Margaret. Even back at the academy," Pierce said.

* * *

If tonight could be summed up in one word it would be this:

**Incredible**

For once Clark and the gang cut loose and had fun. There weren't any meteor freaks to worry about; secrets that needed to be kept hidden. Nothing. This was the most fun Clark had had in a while and he wished it didn't have to end. While Clark was back in the crowd and the girls all went to the bathroom Pete went over to Jimmy.

"Hey Jimmy. Can I ask you something?" Pete asked.

"Sure. What is it?" Jimmy replied.

"Follow me," Pete said exiting the gym and going to one of the less populated areas of the school. Once he was sure they were alone Pete directly asked, "Are you Chloe's admirer?"

"Me?" Jimmy asked pointing at himself. "I thought it was you."

"Why me?"

"Dude. When you do nothing, but take pictures all your life you notice things that most people wouldn't pay attention to. I've seen the way you've looked at Chloe."

Pete felt his throat go dry and wasn't sure how to respond to Jimmy's claim. Jimmy of course did have a thing for Chloe, but he did not want to complicate things between him and his friend.

Instead somebody else did when a mild gust of wind came out of nowhere and Pete found an envelope in his hands.

"You weren't holding that two seconds ago," Jimmy said.

"I know," Pete replied opening it. Inside the envelope was a card that had only five words:

**Turn around for the answer**

The boys did as they were told and saw a boy dressed in a red hoodie standing several feet away from them. With his hood up they couldn't fully see his face. He waved to the two and then in the blink of an eye was nowhere to be seen.

Both Pete and Jimmy were left with dumbstruck looks on their faces. "Did you just see that?"

"You mean the guy that was there and the poof. He was gone? Yeah." Jimmy answered.

"Hey guys. What are you doing out here?" Lana asked. "I thought I'd never find you. It's almost time for the last song." Jimmy and Pete jogged back inside to rejoin their friends; deciding to keep quiet about what they had seen for the time being until they got everything straight.

"Before I start this final song I'd like to extend my congratulations to Tess Mercer for finally giving our residential bitch Dawn Stiles what's been coming to her all year!" Leslie announced earning a loud applause from the other students.

"How do they know about that?" Tess asked Chloe as the song started.

"I might've told a few people," Chloe vaguely answered. "Too bad Dawn isn't here to see this."

"But let's not think about that right now," Jimmy said looking at Chloe. "Would you…" He cut himself off looking at Pete. "Actually Chloe, why don't you and Pete dance together," he suggested.

"Really?" They asked at the same time.

"Well you guys went to the homecoming dance together. Might as well finish out the last dance of the year together as well," Jimmy suggested even if it was killing him inside a little directing Chloe into the arms of another guy.

"Alright." Chloe said.

"It's cool with me," Pete said leading her out onto the dance floor. After they left Jimmy looked at Lana and shrugged.

"May I have this dance?" He asked in a goofy fashion. Lana laughed and took his hand.

"Of course," she said and they left only Clark and Tess behind. Clark looked at Tess and no words had to be shared between the two. Clark took her onto the floor and gripped the sides of her waist. Tess sighed and rested her head on Clark's shoulder letting everything fade back except for the music.

* * *

"That's the last of it," Rudy said tossing aside the last of four canisters of gasoline. After making sure the sprinkler system was shut off he struck a match and then dropped it on the floor. Using the few traces of Clark's speed he still had left, he did the same to three other areas of the school.

"So long Smallville High," he laughed as the fire started to spread.

* * *

Tess lifted her head off Clark's shoulder and their eyes locked together. Clark and Tess' gazes intensified as their eyes lingered on the others mouths. Clark wanted to just close the gap and kiss her. He really, really, wanted to, but every attempt always got interrupted.

The same thoughts were running through Tess' mind and yet she found herself standing on her tiptoes and leaning up to Clark's mouth. He was doing the same. They were so close to what they desired and then the fire alarm started blasting.

They both jumped apart still locked in a partial haze. It was then that the smallest traces of something burning started to penetrate Clark's nostrils.

"Do you smell that Tess?" Clark asked. Tess slowly came back to her senses and she could smell it as well.

"Smoke." Realizing the alarm hadn't randomly been pulled Clark quickly x-ray the building and saw a fire in the science lab, the janitor's closet, the principal's office, and one of the hallways. Not only that, but he also saw someone lying down on the floor of the lab. Luckily these areas were in the back of the school so no one would see the fire and panic just yet.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Chloe asked as the students started vacating the gym not realizing there was an actual fire in the building.

"This isn't a prank Chloe," Clark said quietly as he could. The last thing he wanted was to cause a panic. "I can smell smoke. Just keep walking toward the exit and don't say a word."

Chloe nodded knowing that they didn't need to scare everyone into making a break for the exit. As she and Tess went after the other students something made Chloe stop in her tracks and turn around. Clark was gone.

* * *

Clark sped into the science lab searching for the hurt individual. The fire was growing by the minute and it was obstructing his vision. "Hello! Is anyone in here! ?" He called out.

"Help me," Clark heard someone plead from behind the desk. Clark ran over to it and shoved the desk away to see no one there. Suddenly Clark felt an enormous amount of energy leave him and then he went flying back across the room into the chalk board.

"Hahaha. I knew you'd be too noble to leave this place without checking to make sure there wasn't anyone left behind," Rudy chuckled.

"Rudy. Why are you doing this?" Clark groaned gripping another desk to pull himself up.

"Well I always hated this school and now that I have this power I can have whatever I want. And with your powers I don't have to worry about being arrested now do I?" He asked and then he super sped at Clark again. Clark grabbed his arm, keeping his hand an inch from his face.

"Stop this Rudy. It isn't you." Clark said forcing back Rudy's hands.

"You're right. It's not Rudy, but it is The Parasite!" He yelled and kicked Clark in the chest. Things went into slow motion as Clark's mouth hung wide open from the blow.

He soared backward and crashed back into the board, which gave way making Clark crash into the next classroom. Rudy snickered seeing the tough guy writhing in pain and left the burning science lab.

* * *

By now the entire dance had been evacuated while they waited for the fire department to show up and shut off the alarm.

"Man can you guys really believe someone would up and pull the fire alarm?" Pete asked. "Who'd do something as stupid as that?"

"Got me," Jimmy said shrugging his shoulders. "Have you seen CK anywhere?"

"I thought he was with the girls," Pete said.

"Shit. I hoped he was with you," Chloe said joining up with them with Tess and Lana behind her.

"Why do you sound so worried?" Pete asked not sure he was going to like the answer.

"Oh my God! Look!" A girl screamed pointing at the school. Smoke was coming out from it.

"That's why," Tess answered. "That alarm wasn't pulled. A fire somehow got started."

"You don't think Clark was stupid enough to check and make sure no one was left behind do you?" Jimmy asked.

"He's Clark. What do you think?" Chloe asked looking back at the school with worry.

"Guys? Where's Tess?" Lana asked.

"She was just here a second ago… oh crud," was what left Jimmy's mouth as he saw her pushing through the crowd until she got to the entrance.

* * *

"Clark!" Tess shouted out hoping he'd hear her. "Clark!" She yelled again; still nothing. She ran as fast as possible trying to not breathe in what little smoke had reached the entrance to the school. She ran further down the hallways calling out Clark's name and wound up inhaling some of the smoke. She started coughing badly and braced herself against the wall to keep herself up.

She continued forward until she got close to the science lab where she heard the sound of someone struggling. Tess took one step forward and then something hard rammed against the back of her head. Tess fell unconscious to the floor and her body was tossed into the nearest room.

"Sorry Tess. Nothing personal," Whitney said slamming the door shut.

* * *

"Just give up Clark. It'll be a lot less painful," Rudy said standing over Clark. Clark quickly shot up punching Rudy in the right side of his mouth. His head jerked to the side and blood flew out his mouth and onto the floor. Rudy growled at Clark and shot a punch at him. Clark dodged it and grabbed Rudy's arm, but he threw another punch with his left fist.

On instinct Clark held up his arm to block it, but Rudy seized it instead draining more of Clark's powers. Clark yanked his hand out of Rudy's grip, but felt very dizzy. Clark swung out his fist only Rudy dodged it with little effort and slammed his elbow into Clark's spin almost breaking it.

Clark forced himself to stand clutching his back. They both entered super speed and clashed ten times in the room. They hit one another in some of the most vulnerable areas. Clark hit Rudy's jaw. Rudy hit Clark in the heart. Clark kicked him in straight in the face and Rudy hit Clark right in the throat. One final clash and Clark fell out of super speed and flew up into the ceiling. He dodged Rudy, who ran under him and fell down by his feet.

Clark kicked Rudy as hard as he could in the knee forcing him to his feet. Clark shot up landing an uppercut on Rudy forcing him to undamaged part of the blackboard. Rudy dodged Clark's punch making his fist go through the board. He kneed Clark in the stomach and took hold of Clark's foot. With one swing he tossed Clark near the window. He ran again, caught Clark's feet, and body slammed him through the teacher's desk disorienting the weakened Clark even more. Rudy's mouth twitched into a smile and he sped at Clark carrying them both off to another section of the school.

* * *

Chloe and the others were nail bitingly nervous as they waited for their friends to come out of the building. The fire had spread now so they could see the smoke coming out of the entrance. They could hear the sirens of the fire trucks in the distance, but that wasn't making the group feel any calmer.

The class had backed away to a safe distance, but Chloe, Jimmy, Pete, and Lana stayed as close as possible. Jimmy could see the look in Chloe's eyes and stepped in her path.

"I know that look Chloe and if you take one step towards that building I will stop you," Jimmy said.

"I can't just stand here and wait for them. What if they're hurt?" Chloe was holding onto hope that Clark was the meteor infected student she had been trying to find since the homecoming dance, but if he was then what was taking so long for him to get out?

"Chloe there's nothing you can do," Lana attempted to reason also standing in her way. "Besides the fire department is here," she said pointing to the trucks behind Chloe. Chloe turned and saw them coming into view and sighed when she felt something graze past her shoulder.

Chloe uneasily turned her attention back to her friends and gasped. A gaping bullet wound was clearly visible in Lana's chest blanketing her white dress in blood. Lana looked just as shocked as Chloe and then collapsed to the street. Jimmy and Pete immediately dashed off towards the arriving ambulance while Chloe immediately started putting pressure on Lana's wound.

Far off in the distance a lone sniper smiled and pulled out his cell phone while disappearing into the dark.

* * *

Pierce felt his cell phone vibrate and made sure no one was looking at first. Seeing that Maggie was temporarily not in sight he pulled it out of his jacket pocket and read the incoming text message.

**Got her boss.**

Pierce smiled and replied back 'excellent work.' He discretely hid his cell phone again before any of the staff could see him.

"You look happy," Maggie said stepping in front of his cell drinking a cup of coffee.

"I'm just thinking about how I will be out of this jail cell way before you even get a chance to transfer me to a maximum security prison," he bragged.

"Dream on Pierce," Maggie said.

* * *

"Hang on Lana! Do you hear me! ?" Chloe shouted at her. Lana's eyes were closed and Chloe could no longer feel a pulse. "Damn it Lana! You can't do this!" Chloe shouted covering Lana's bullet wound again.

Chloe was never one to believe in miracles, but one manifested itself before Chloe's eyes in the form of a bright light that emitted from her own two hands. Lana's eyes slowly opened and she slowly began to breathe again.

Chloe felt dizzy and feint and almost toppled over when the paramedics reached her and Lana. Chloe followed them into the truck as they loaded the still clinging to life, if barely, Lana on board. The ambulance took off for the hospital and Chloe looked at her bloody and violently shaking hands.

_Did I just do what I thought I just did, _she nervously thought.

* * *

Rudy tossed Clark's damaged stature into the area by the pool, which was surprisingly not on fire yet. Clark never felt so weak before in his life. He could only feel a small amount of his strength left. Rudy had practically stolen all of it from him.

"Rudy. Please," Clark begged. "You aren't a killer."

"Who said anything about killing?" Rudy asked. "I'm keeping you alive so I can keep feeding off you Clark. Turns out my draining doesn't last forever. I'm like a battery that has to recharge constantly," he said.

"Rudy!" Whitney shouted out walking in on the two.

"What are you doing here?" Rudy asked facing him.

"Some unfinished business with me and Clark," he answered. Whitney started to cough violently suggesting he breathed in a lot of the smoke.

"Well he's mine so…ahhh!" Rudy groaned falling to the floor feeling a lot of his strength starting to leave him. Clark felt just like Rudy only ten times worse. Clark saw Lana's necklace in Whitney's right hand.

"I'm giving you once chance to leave right now Rudy," Whitney offered. Rudy crawled as far away from Whitney as he could and felt his strength start to return. He looked at Clark and decided to leave now then get hit with whatever made him feel weak; wasn't worth dying in this fire.

"Hopefully I'll see you around Kent," Rudy said and was gone.

"Whitney, no," Clark whispered.

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Whitney roared at him. "You ruined my life Kent. I had everything going my way until you had to destroy it all at homecoming!" He shouted and punched Clark in the face with every last drop of hate he could muster with the hand the necklace was in. He repeated it three more times until Clark felt dizzy and weak.

His vision became a blurry mess and the only thing he could see clearly was the green glow of Lana's necklace. Whitney kicked Clark onto his back and then pulled out some rope. He tied Clark's hands behind his back and then tied his legs together.

"Hope one of your powers involves being able to hold your breath for a long time Clark."

Clark couldn't believe this. Not only did Whitney somehow remember what happened during homecoming, but he was also acting as if he was still infected from the Nicodemus flower.

That thought stuck with Clark and to be sure he strained himself to use his X-Ray vision despite the necklace making him weaker. He saw small traces of the flower's spores still in Whitney's system.

"Whitney. Y-you have to li-listen t- to me," Clark stuttered almost out of strength. Whitney responded by tying the necklace around Clark's neck and then punching him once more.

"Have a nice swim," he said and knocked Clark into the water. Clark was too weak to do anything. Too weak to break the ropes. Too weak to even attempt to swim all the way up for air. Everything started fading to black for Clark and he let his eyes close shut.

**To Be Continued…**

**In Alternate Season 2!**

**A/N: And here I am thinking I could never finish a story. I hope you all enjoyed the twists we had in this chapter from the introduction of Bart Allen, to Pierce's second accomplice, to the file 'Project Mercer' and of course Chloe's power manifesting itself early. **

**I'd like to thank Chlollie who suggested I do that for this story when I originally started it. Even if I haven't heard from her since chapter 1. Regardless, thanks Chlollie! I'll see you guys all soon with the start of the second Alternate Season!**


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